Happily Ever After
by YukiraKing
Summary: The glimpse of an epilogue you saw through the eyes of Takeru at the end of 02 is now here and in clearer details. This is what we've been leading up to. The reason for our immense amount of writing, just to make the epilogue make sense, and so here it is. I hope you like it, I hope it fits and makes more sense than it did like twelve years ago, and yeah :D
1. Epilogue

**Y/N: **Wow. It's so weird to be back writing these characters. But they're not the same either. They've aged quite a bit since the end of 05, and I think that having that year between writing them will hopefully show the difference in their "Voices". Fingers crossed anyway! I'm kind of glad to be back with these characters for one last story. But I'm also glad that we'll finally be giving them an ending. This story will cover the time between 05 and the original epilogue on the show that took place in 2027. So there's a bit of ground to cover. And it wouldn't be one of our digimon stories if it wasn't chocked full of drama. So much drama. I hope you like it, and I hope you'll drop us a review. We've missed hearing from you. :D

**U/N:** Firstly, I'll start on an apologetic note, I do realize this is about a year and three months late, and I'm so very sorry for that. There really isn't an excuse other than that the epilogue wasn't working and we eventually just stopped trying. We came back to it though, and I re read 03, HIMTM, 04, HCTB, 05 and every moment in the collection as well as re watched season 1 and I'm now working on season 2… I'm on digimon overload! Which actually brings me to point two…

Happy 15th anniversary to Digimon stuff! :D Isn't that exciting? I dunno, it's good timing for our epilogue to go up—the day they celebrate the anniversary. I think it's cool anyway.

Anyway, onto the actual story, it was originally going to include Davis, Ken, Tk, Michael and Tai, but since we included Kurayami in HCTB we decided to include Neo, Hideto, Kiyoko and Mari in this one, so the story became longer, which means you'll get half of it today, and the rest on Wednesday—which sucks, sorry for the prolonged wait—but these chapters are pretty long anyway, I'm sure they'll do for now… well I hope they do.

**Title: Happily Ever After**

**By: Yukiraking**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters**

**Chapter 1:Epilogue**

_**Daisuke Motomiya: 12:00 pm**_

"Why did we have to come through at the Temple, dad?"

"It's to regulate the comings and goings of people in the Digital World," I told my son. I was pretty sure I'd told him hundreds of times in the past when he asked the same question, but it never seemed to stick with him. Kurayami never had this problem. He hung off of every word she said. Huh. I guess he takes after me in that regard. I swear she's just gotten more and more interesting over the years. It's lucky I guess. Some couples don't have that. Most couples haven't been through what Kurayami and I have been through, both separately and together. There's a lot of evil, digimon and saving the world in there that loads of other people can't claim to have experienced. I was grateful for that though. It made us unique. Not that we really needed all that much help in that department.

"It would just be so much easier if we could just show up at Uncle Taichi's house."

"I know, Haruki. You only suggest it every time we visit. But, as I've said before, there's just the one key to open the gate. We don't have D3's to open gates wherever and whenever we want anymore. If the gate was open to Taichi's house, he'd have people coming through all the time. It's not just digidestined anymore. Koushiro's got a research team, Jou's got his staff, Taichi's always talking to politicians. It would just get messy. And Katsue's always trying to get her next documentary series filmed. If she wasn't monitored, who knows what she'd reveal about the Digital World," I said shaking my head. "It's safer for both Taichi's family and the digimon if everyone has to check in at the Temple upon entering."

"That's too complicated, Dad," Haruki groaned.

"Yet you can talk philosophy and psychology with your mother for hours," I said rolling my eyes. "Have I ever told you how happy I am that you got your mother's brains?"

"Only all the time, Mr Noodle King," he teased. He pulled a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket and straightened it up. It turned out to be the cover of a food magazine. The one that had my face plastered across it with Veemon standing next to me, both of us with a bowl of noodles in our hands (totally prop noodles too, they were terrible! Not fit for eating) and crowns on our heads. The magazine pronounced me the "Noodle King" and the article went into detail about my expansion to North American locations. It was pretty cool stuff, but I'd be lying if I didn't find all of the attention a little embarrassing. More so now that I found out my son was carrying the cover around.

"Why do you have that?" I asked, trying to snatch it from him.

"I get so few chances to really brag about my dad," he said. "Between Uncle Takeru Takaishi: bestselling author extraordinaire, Uncle Yamato Ishida: rock star and astronaut, Aunt Sora's got the Takenouchi clothing line, Uncle Taichi runs this place, and Aunt Mimi and Aunt Mari both have their own television shows. And that's not even mentioning the award winning actors and Hollywood's favourite power couple: Michael and Tatum Washington!" He said all this as though he were introducing the next contestants of a televised game show. It was a little over the top.

"Koushiro and Jou's jobs are pretty cool," I pointed out.

"They're boring," he insisted.

"Historic," I corrected. "The first official researcher and doctor of the Digital World. Not to mention that Momoe and Miyako literally are the ones that do the monitoring of all travellers to and from this—and subsequently all—of the worlds. That's pretty cool."

"But too top secret for me to know anything about," he said grumpily.

"Not so top secret as Willis. I still don't know what it is he does."

"At least you're not trying to compare rock star to elementary school teacher," he said. "Or a guidance counselor."

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "Do you see Veemon yet? He was supposed to meet us ten minutes ago. If he doesn't come soon we're going to have to leave without him, and I really don't want to do that."

"He's training the Knights, right?" Haruki asked excitedly.

"No," I said, sorry to disappoint him. "He's just doing finishing some report or something about their progress. Word is that they're doing really well. He won't tell me much though. He wants me to be surprised."

"Can I come see them train?" Haruki asked.

"Someday, sure," I said with a grin. "Maybe DemiVeemon will grow up to be a Knight one day."

"That would be so cool!"

I whipped around and saw that Veemon was headed our way. He was wandering through the courtyard (which I was proud to say had one of my noodle carts in it, manned by one of Digitamamon's employees; it was one of many different carts and stalls that made up the market place) toward us. We'd been waiting at the tall entrance gate, hoping he'd be able to spot us. It isn't hard to do, we were some of the only humans present at the time—and while Gennai's clones looked quite human, they all managed to look the same—and Haruki was like a miniature version of myself. DemiVeemon looked to be napping on Veemon's head. It was kind of adorable. It also reminded me of all the rides I'd given Veemon over the years. It was weird to think of us back then, though we'd all read Takeru's books as they'd been published, just to see if he took any creative licenses we didn't care for of course. It just seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had changed in my life since then. In all of our lives. And sure, I sometimes get nostalgic for the times when we'd save the world from certain destruction, and then I remember Haruki, and how I'm _glad_ we don't have to do that anymore. I don't know how Jou ever did it with Emiko around and all. I'd just die if something happened to Haruki. And it's not that I didn't think he could handle himself, it was just...that _no_ I _didn't_ think he could handle himself. He didn't have the training we all did, and the battles always got harder, not easier. If something worse than Yggdrasil or Arkadimon happened...

But I didn't need to think like that. We'd defeated all but one of the great evils, plus the glitch, plus the master of all of the worlds. And from what I gathered that strange D-Reaper attack was meant to be the final great evil. That meant we were all in the clear.

"Why so serious, Daisuke?" Veemon asked when he reached us. Haruki was quick to pick DemiVeemon off of his 'bed' and hug him tightly. "Aren't you excited? It's the twenty-eighth year celebration. For the original eight anyway, and that means it's your..."

"Twenty-fifth!" Haruki jumped in excitedly. "Wow you're old."

"I resent that," I said with a laugh.

"Are we waiting for Mom too? Or can we get going," Haruki wanted to know.

"We're not waiting, but I have something to give you before we leave," I said. I pulled a small package out of the duffle bag I'd been toting with us. It was full of food for the picnic—and _no_ there weren't any noodles in it (it's amazing how sick Haruki was of noodles, I didn't think it was possible! And that's not even taking Kurayami into account. She threatened to destroy me if I didn't bring something, and I quote "Edible" to the celebration. Granted, for her "edible" is currently sauerkraut with diced pickles and canned tuna, so I didn't take too much offense). I handed him the gift and he ripped the paper open like nobody's business, juggling DemiVeemon, trying not to wake him.

"Wow," he said, his eyes going wide as he realized just what he was holding in his free hand. "Shouldn't Nikko—"

"I talked to Taichi," I told him. "He said he wanted you to have them. You can give them to Nikko when he's older. Everyone looks up to you right now. They wouldn't take Nikko seriously if he were to wear them."

"But these are..." he said. "These are _the_ goggles. Like in the stories."

"Yeah," I said. "I haven't worn them in years. Haven't needed to."

"This is—Dad this is _huge_," he said. "What if I break them?"

"They're stronger than you'd think. They got us through five major adventures. _And_ Taichi and I both totally wore them for day to day activities if I'm being honest."

"And you always should be," Haruki said teasingly. He sobered up. "I can really have these? To wear and everything?"

"I'd be honoured if you wore them now actually." He wasted no time in getting them on his head, handing DemiVeemon to me so he didn't risk breaking them. I can't even begin to explain how proud I was to see Haruki wearing them. He looked like I did when I first got to wear them, like it was the most important moment—putting them on—in the entire world. I was awestruck when Taichi gave them to me. And I was just as awestruck when he suggested I give them to my son, instead of his. _"They go to the leader,_" he'd said. And with them resting on the top of his head, Haruki really looked the part.

"Are you _crying_," he asked me sounding horrified at the very idea.

"No," I said. It wasn't technically a lie. My eyes were only misting. There weren't any real tears. Not yet anyway.

"Good," he said. "It would ruin the whole bragging thing if you were a cry baby."

"Whatever," I told him, ruffling his hair. He was quick to protect the goggles, but seemed happy. I handed DemiVeemon to him and we headed off. We weren't the last to arrive at Taichi's place, but we were close. I could see that Taichi and Ken had started up a soccer game with some of the kids. It was, honestly, most of the boys, but I could see that Aika was out there too, keeping up with the best of the older kids. I mean, she was pretty little—only six—but she had game. I was itching to join in, but it looked like there were enough adults out there. Ken looked to have wrangled Osamu out onto the field, which had to have been quite the feat. Nikko was going head to head against his father, and Taichi really wasn't holding anything back. Hiro was out there, though he seemed to be on Takeru's team, rather than against him. Neither was doing well. It appeared as though Makoto managed to rope Koushiro into playing net for his team (from what I could tell, this consisted of the two of them, Aika and Taichi). Tenshi rounded out the players, making the teams odd, with five players to four, but Haruki was well on his way to correcting that, having placed DemiVeemon on a chair where he could sleep peacefully before running out into the field.

"Nice goggles," Taichi shouted.

"Thanks!" Haruki said excitedly. This caused a brief lull in the game as all the kids wanted to check them out. Haruki didn't even feel the need to show off the magazine cover, which I was grateful for. I grinned at the scene, before searching for a place to put my food. I saw Kana and Renjiro talking to one another in low voices under the digital equivalent of a weeping willow. To my left at a picnic table, I saw their fathers mimicking them—knowingly or not. Iori and Jou were debating about something that held little to no interest to me, so I moved on. I laughed at the sight of Yamato being interviewed by Mai Ichijouji: reporter in training. I did not envy him right then. She was always asking tough, hard hitting questions. And since Yamato had been all around the world—and off of it—he was the perfect candidate to test some new ones.

"No way! These are gorgeous," Mimi gushed. I saw she was looking through Sora's latest sketchbook. I had a few doubts about the quality of the designs—Mimi's not very fashion conscious.

"I can't wait to see one of these finished. They're perfect," she told Sora with a grin.

"You think so? I didn't want the comparison to be too literal this time. I wanted something more subtle. These would be for the general public, not for just us, so I wanted to be sure," Sora said.

"Definitely," Mimi squealed. "This Fridgimon dress is adorable!"

"I'm so glad you think so," Sora said happily.

Huh. It looked like she was planning another digimon line, and this time it wouldn't be closed for us based on our digimon. Cool. Maybe I could convince her to design some digi-baby clothes? I'd have to catch her later...

"Can't you just lie still?" Miyako pleaded. Taro was rolling around on the blanket she was trying to use to change his diaper. He'd just started rolling, and wasn't about to lie still anymore. He wanted to explore. It would've been funnier if I wasn't about to go through the same thing again though.

"You sure?" Shouta queried.

"Uh huh," Chika was telling him. "I heard about it in a musical that Grandma took me to in New York. The girl really said that's how grass grows!"

"I no like bugs," Shouta said.

"I didn't really like them either, but now they're so cool, tuggin' on the grass and makin' it get big," Chika said happily. "I can't wait to tell Daddy all the stuff I learned. Did you know that sparrows are just baby eagles?"

"Wha's a spawwow?"

"Uh...I dunno. But we eat them at Thanksgiving and Christmas apparently, the girl said so," Chika explained.

"Wow," Shouta said. "Wha's thanksgiving?"

"Um... It's when we eat the growed up sparrows, silly," Chika said with a giggle.

"Oh ya!" Shouta said laughing too.

I did not envy Koushiro. He was going to be taught so many strange new facts. Chika sure had a wild imagination. She was practically Koushiro's opposite, but she had him wrapped around her little finger anyway.

I finally reached the house, and slipped inside, hoping to find someone that knew where to put my stuff. I found that person in the form of Rei. She snuck up behind me and gave me a hug.

"What did you bring us?" she asked.

"Food not fit for consumption," I said sagely.

"Excellent," she said with a grin. "I was worried we'd have nothing Kurayami would eat."

"Nikko's getting big," I commented.

"You don't need to tell me twice," she said with a laugh. "He's been shooting up like a weed these last few months."

"And looking more and more like his dad," I pointed out.

"Don't remind me. With each extra inch, he loses what little he had of me in him. He hardly looks like me at all these days. He'll be a carbon copy of his father before too long," Rei said. "But at least he won't be the only one. Haruki's looking more like you too. I saw him through the window. He's such a sweet boy."

"Yeah, he gets his looks from me, and everything else from his mother," I grinned.

"What have we got here," Momoe asked, sweeping into the front room. "Food? Why don't I take that to the kitchen? Natsuni and I have things almost sorted out, if you two want to go outside and visit."

"I didn't mean to trap you in my kitchen," Rei said worriedly.

"We're volunteering," Momoe said. "Now go! Mingle!"

We nearly ran into Michael as we opened the door. He had so much stuff piled in his arms he couldn't see us. Louisa, ever the helpful one, was carrying a package of plastic cups and utensils. Slipping passed them, I noticed Elliot had joined the soccer game, and it looked like Koushiro was out, since he was laying spread out on the grass, with Tatum laughing at his side. It seemed as though nearly everyone was here now. I'd missed them all during the two minutes I'd been inside. Ridiculous really.

"Madlyn, Iris, don't wander off, alright?" Willis instructed his twins as he and Hikari set down the things they'd brought with them. "Why don't you play with Izumi? She'd like that."

"Zoomy!" Izumi cheered. "Pway wif me?"

"Otay!" the twins agreed. They started 'running' after one another. It was more like a challenge to see who could run more than five steps without falling on her face. But it was cute.

Neo claimed the picnic table furthest from the house, and put his cooler of water down on it. Kids flocked to it and he resigned himself to being the water boy. Hideto and Kiyoko were hanging out together over by a tree, just kind of watching all the kids as they talked.

"Kurayami!" Hikari shouted. "You're here!"

"I'm here," she agreed.

"I wasn't sure, since you were due six days ago. You could've taken the day to relax," Sora pointed out. It was kind of hard to miss though. I would never say it out loud, because contrary to popular believe I'm not stupid, nor do I have a death wish, but she was _big_. She was officially over nine months pregnant though, so it wasn't her fault. And not that she isn't totally beautiful this way or anything. It was just obvious that she should really be resting at home. Or at the hospital even. I wasn't picky.

"Just get me a seat, and I'll be good," Kurayami said with a smile.

"Can I get you some water, Mom?" Haruki asked.

"Yes, please," Kurayami said.

"I'll see about getting the food out," Mimi suggested. "You must be famished."

"Indeed I am," Kurayami laughed. Mimi rushed into the house and came back moments later with Natsuni in toe.

"Which of you kids wants to help bring the food to the tables?" Natsuni hollered. All of the kids dropped their water bottles on the ground and lined up to see what they could carry—all except the really little ones, who could barely (or couldn't at all) walk. It didn't take long for the food to be laid out in a spectacular spread. Everyone took a seat in the circle of picnic tables and dug in. It wasn't until she showed up with a guest that I realized we weren't all there yet.

"I'm here!" Emiko shouted. "The party can—begin... You started _without_ me?"

"We told you to be here by noon," Jou said. "It's not my fault you didn't listen."

"I listened, I just lost track of time, since I got some interesting news today and all," Emiko said. I could tell she wanted to make it exciting, and all she needed was someone to ask before she whipped out an over-the-top dramatic performance.

"Is that a Digimon Adventure book?" Hiro asked the guest no one seemed to pay mind to. It was Emiko's friend—best friend maybe—but I didn't know his name.

"Yeah, the latest one..." her friend said. "Emiko told me to read it before I came, but I haven't quite finished it yet. Just two chapters to go, and I would've left it at home—"

"_Should've_ left it at home," Emiko interrupted.

"But there's very little left to the final showdown and really, how could I be expected to put it down...?"

"Easily," Emiko grumbled.

"Why don't you finish it off," Takeru suggested. "And then you can ask any questions you might have afterwards. How's that sound."

"Excellent," Emiko's friend said. "I'm Azura by the way."

I _knew_ that. Oops.

"I already have loads of questions about subplot that didn't make any sense, or was left unexplained," Azura commented.

"You realize it's all true, right?" Takeru asked. "Which means there's no subplots, just smaller schemes of smaller bad guys."

Azura flushed bright red. "I-I kn-know. I j-just f-find it e-e-easier to think of i-it d-different-tly is all."

We ate with gusto, all except Azura who was engrossed in the book. It wasn't until he set the book down, that we slowed down with the inhalation of food.

"So?" Takeru asked.

"I have several things," Azura said. "They all depend on whether this is the last book or not."

"It's not the last book, but it's the end of our story," Takeru said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"There's still the story of the D-Reaper that needs to be told," Takeru explained. "It's still in the news, but I'll be writing a final Digimon story about it."

"It can't be a Digimon Adventure story though," Hikari protested. "They call themselves 'Tamers'. Isn't that cute?"

"But I got the tell-all interview with Trust on this one," Takeru complained. "And he's a digidestined, no matter what he calls himself, which makes him a part of the Adventure series..."

"Why don't you just stick to answering the questions that are asked of you," Mai said bossily. She pulled a notebook out of the bag at Miyako's side, and found a couple of pens. "I'll write down all of the answers. It can be a tell-all interview too. But with the famous author rather than a twelve year old."

"He might be fourteen—" Takeru interrupted.

"I don't really care, to be honest," Mai said. "I'm just writing it down. I don't have the same insightful questions he will. I'm sure of it. He's old now, so he's got to be smart."

"Old?" Azura questioned quietly. "I just graduated high school. I'm not _old_."

"Can we get started or what?"

"Fine," Takeru said grumpily.

"It's just that so many questions get left unanswered. You just mentioned Trust for example. You never got into details about who he was. We never learned his identity and weren't told of any potential meetings between him and the digidestined we've come to know through the novels. I trust that you did locate him, or you wouldn't have brought him up?" Azura started. He was speaking rather quietly, and didn't seem to happy to have to speak in front of a crowd of strangers, but Emiko was urging him on.

"Oh yeah," Michael said. "Ken found him a couple of weeks ago."

"You could've told us," Willis whined. "No one tells me anything!"

"That's another thing," Azura said, pointing at Willis. "Are we supposed to assume that Willis and Mari got together after the funeral?"

"We didn't," Mari told him.

"Disappointing," he commented, but then shrugged. "The book really pulled focus onto that potential relationship and caused the fans to hope for such a relationship to occur."

"That really didn't have anything to do with saving the world though," Takeru said. "All my books were about how we saved the world."

"And telling the world all of our secrets and mistakes and romantic pursuits," Sora added.

"I can't even teach using my real name. I have a pseudonym just so my students will do work instead of ask me questions about digimon. As it is, most of my students are obsessed with them thanks to that new TV show," Hikari pointed out.

"You're just sore because you're not their favourite character," Takeru teased.

"Juri likes me," Hikari pouted.

"Do you have any better questions?" Mai asked Azura skeptically.

"Well," he said. "I've been wondering about these secondary characters—sorry, they're not characters, they're just on the side-lines. Well, what happened to Shuu and Jun for example, I assume they were married right away?"

"Actually, they weren't," I said. "Soon enough, sure, but there were delays. That was a crazy day actually. Not crazy in a the-world-is-ending-what-do-we-do sort of way, just exhausting."

"Well, tell us about it!" Mai demanded.

"Oh, I bet it'll be so romantic!" Louisa sighed.

"Urgh," Elliot moaned. "I hate these kinds of stories."

"Suck it up," Haruki said with a laugh. "Soon enough you'll be a part of one. You'll think differently then."

"Uh, no," Elliot promised him. "I'm cool all on my own. I don't need romance. It gives me the creeps just thinking about it."

"Me too," Tatum muttered. "He's my baby."

"Aw, Mom!" Elliot cried.

"I'd like to hear a story," Renjiro said shyly.

"Only 'cuz you're a nerd," Nikko said with a snort.

"Don't say that about Renjiro!" Kana snapped at him. "Just because you're not smart."

"Whoa," I said. "I'll tell the story, so long as you don't start fighting here."

"Okay," Kana said happily.

"Alright then..."

* * *

Jun realized quite quickly that her Wedding-In-A-Month plan wasn't going to get anywhere. She had so many people to invite. After Momoe's epic mid-battle nuptials, she wanted to go all out and get something that could compare. So she pretty much invited all of Odaiba. Okay, maybe not all, but close to it, I'm sure. All the people and digimon she or Shuu ever interacted with were sent invitations. And of course she needed to wait for the guests to RSVP, or else she couldn't order enough food for them, or book a big enough venue. She'd enlisted us digidestined to do the decorating for her. Our first mission after saving the world. It didn't really compare. But she was happy to order us around.

The planning was slower going than she'd hoped and the wedding didn't take place until seven months after the final battle with Yggdrasil and his armies. It also didn't help that much of Odaiba actually needed to be rebuilt—including her choice venue. She got a discount for renting it because she'd set up a team to help do the repairs.

* * *

"Can't you tell a story chronologically?" Azura asked.

"Yeah," Emiko said. "You're jumping all over the place. Don't do that."

"Okay..."

* * *

Point is, the wedding was on and Jun managed to _not_ turn into bridzilla, which I was thankful for. She and Shuu had these great plans to have Otamamon and Meramon standing up with them, while Jou and Shin were Shuu's ushers, and I stood up with Momoe for Jun. She couldn't pick anyone better than me for the job, and I refused to be called a bridesmaid. Things went alright during the set up of the venue and the ceremony site. Things did not go so well during the rehearsal. The air was thick the entire time due to tension. Jun wanted the perfect wedding, and that included our father walking her down the aisle. Mom and I were on pretty good footing by that point, but Dad? Forget about it. He wouldn't even acknowledge my existence, he didn't look at me, talk to me, come near me. Nothing.

* * *

"Rude," Mai said, rolling her eyes. "Are you going to give me any dirt or not?"

"Preferably?" I asked. "Not."

* * *

"Daisuke, darling," Mom said the morning of the actual wedding. "I need your help. Your sister's worked herself up into a dreadful state."

"What's gotten into her?"

"Something about Sora? That's one of _your_ friend's isn't it? I don't know why she's asking about her, so I can't help. Please talk to her?" Mom pleaded.

"He shouldn't be a part of the wedding party at all," Dad told Mom in that harsh way he's always talking. "Not if Shuu didn't ask him to stand with _him_. Jun doesn't need his failure to rub off on her at such a pivotal moment in her life. I won't stand to have a divorced daughter because of him."

"Just go, Daisuke, please."

"No problem, Mom," I said, ignoring my dad. He said other, meaner things that I don't want to mention in front of children, but let's just say they were hurtful.

"Jun," I called, barging into her dressing room. "What's up?"

"Sora just texted! She said she can't come after all. What am I going to do? I can't go out there. Not without her. She's imperative to my plans. She's the digidestined of love! What does it say if the digidestined of love can't be bothered to show up at your wedding? It means we're doomed!"

* * *

"Seems like I caused quite a stir," Sora said apologetically.

"I'll say," Momoe added. "She nearly fainted four times before Mrs Motomiya went to get Daisuke. We just didn't know what to do anymore. And I couldn't help. I had to go wrangle the flower girl..."

"What?" Emiko said defensively. "I was a kid. I don't even remember it."

* * *

"You're not doomed just because Sora didn't show up," I assured her. "Sora's not very good at romance. It's probably a blessing in disguise."

* * *

"DAISUKE!" Sora gasped.

"I was probably just trying to comfort her," I said awkwardly.

"This is _gold_," Mai was saying. "Take a picture of his face, Tenshi."

"Okay," he said nodding his head. He pulled the camera from around his neck and snapped a picture of my reaction, and then one of Sora's for good measure.

"You can continue now," Mai informed me.

* * *

"You're probably right," Jun sighed. "I just wish she was here. She said she would be, and now she's not. And that's not how RSVPing is supposed to work. You can't change your mind!"

"Speaking about changing minds, are you changing yours?"

"No," she said quickly.

"Then get down there before Shuu thinks you are!"

"Oh my god. He thinks that? Why didn't you tell him I wouldn't? Get out of my way. The bride is coming through!"

"Good," I said. "Wait! I'm supposed to go first."

I chased her down the stairs. She won, but only because I didn't want to push passed her when she was running in heels. I didn't want to be responsible for a broken leg or something. I caught up to her when she was waiting on our father's arm.

"Finally," he said. "You were keeping us waiting. It's your sister's wedding day. Don't pull attention to yourself. She deserves better."

"What?" I asked confused. "I was _right_ behind her."

"Don't talk back. Just get in line," he snapped.

"Will do," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Behave!"

"Dad, calm down," Jun said.

"He's disrespecting me, and he's disrespecting _you_."

"You're the one being disrespectful," I pointed out in a whisper.

"Are you sassing me?"

"Dude, calm down. Like you said, it's Jun's day."

"I'm not one of your little friends. You don't call me_ dude_. I am your father. I expect to be acknowledged as such."

"Dad," Jun hissed.

"I'm just trying to get him to behave, dear," Dad told her.

There were several things I _wanted_ to say to him in that moment. Instead, I chose to roll my eyes. It might not have been the best decision. Dad reached over and grabbed my arm tightly.

"I don't know where we went wrong, but you are nothing like you ought to have been. I was raising a strong, respectful son. He disappeared once you met those Yagami's. I had hoped that Ichijouji boy would've instilled those desired qualities in you again, but you managed to ruin his future along with yours."

"Get out."

"What?"

"I said get out!"

* * *

"You can't kick people out of someone else's wedding," Sora hissed.

"Unless you're Kurayami," Miyako said with a laugh.

"That's the thing," I said. "It wasn't me."

* * *

"Jun," I gasped. "You don't mean that."

"I do," she said firmly. "And now I'm angry that you made me say that early. But Daisuke is right. It is _my_ day, and it is _you_ that is acting disrespectfully. You say that Taichi and Hikari started Daisuke on the wrong course, but I see it differently. If they hadn't become friends, none of us would be here right now. They saved us all because of that friendship. And Daisuke did _not_ ruin Ken! He helped shape Ken into the man he is today. And I _know_ that Ken is thankful for that every day. Without Daisuke, Ken never would've married the love of his life. If you care about Daisuke at all Dad, you could see it. And if you care about me, you'd _try_ to at least. But this is to be the happiest day of my life. And goddamn it, I will _make_ it the best day anyone has ever seen. And if you can't behave _your_self, then the door is right over there mister!"

"Who would walk you down the aisle, though," I pointed out.

"The best little brother in the whole world," Jun said gently.

"If you feel that way, then I shall respect your decision," Dad said. His voice was cold and distant, but I knew him well enough to hear the heartbreak in his voice.

"I want _you_ to do it," Jun told him. She could hear it too and it was causing her to cry too. Thankfully she thought to wear waterproof makeup. I didn't want to have to tell her she looked like a racoon. "But I also want you to grow up. You're the one that's supposed to be a good example. The guy that your grandkids will look up to. How can you do that when you can't show a little humility? Let go of your damn pride Dad. I love you, but you make it so hard sometimes."

"His pride is his shield," I told her. "Humility is a painful lesson to learn. Trust me, I know."

"You know humility?" Dad asked with a snort.

"If I thought you'd listen, I'd tell you all about it," I said. "It's my destined trait. I'm the digidestined of humility."

"He's kind of saved the world multiple times because of it," Jun bragged.

"And once, I saved it because I dreamed to own a noodle-cart," I said softly. "And I made that dream come true. And it's been a small success so far."

"It would be more successful if you could put your pride aside, and just be proud of your son," Jun said.

"It's successful?" Dad asked after an excessively long moment of silence.

"_Small _success, I think I said."

"It's getting bigger every day," Jun said. "And you've got to taste his creations. They are fantastic. Mom loves them."

"Haruka does?"

"Yeah," I said sheepishly. "She eats there every Tuesday."

"Perhaps," he said slowly. "For _Jun_'s sake, you could pencil me in for next Wednesday then."

"For Jun's sake, sure," I said hesitantly.

"Thank you," Jun gasped. "This is the best present anyone could ever give me: my family. We'll be whole again if only you two could get along."

* * *

"And well, then Shuu became my brother, and they went on to have a daughter, the end."

"You suck at telling stories," Aika pointed out.

"Well, I'm not an author, so I think that's okay," I said forcing a smile.

"It's not," she informed me. "You're a dad. Dad's are supposed to be good story-tellers."

"Well, it's not my strong suit, okay!"

"Daisuke, are you really arguing with a little girl?" Kurayami asked with a light laugh.

"I'm not little. And I'm not a girl."

"My little tomboy," Sora said, rolling her eyes.

"What about the other grown-ups?" Louisa asked. "When did they get married?"

"You mean like the other brothers and sisters?" I asked.

"Oh, I could listen to a wedding story about anybody," Louisa sighed dreamily.

"Mantarou married a sweet girl just a couple of years ago," Miyako said. "And Masa has two younger siblings, you know, you played with them last week. Chiziru isn't married though. But the two younger one's have the same father, and she knows who he is, so you know, progress."

"Shin is still Shin. He's more of a loser than I am, which is, of course saying something," Jou announced. "But he's not seeing anyone. He's too much of a workaholic. He takes after Dad in that respect. My guess is that he'll marry late in life, kind of how Dad re-married. All of my step-sister's are married...but I don't suppose you really care..."

"Nope," Elliot said.

"_Yes_," Louisa corrected.

"We don't ever really get to know them in the books," Azura commented. "I didn't really feel anything for them. Though I suppose I am quite pleased to hear that they did beget happiness."

"Beget happiness," Emiko mocked, laughing lightly. "You're so weird."

"You said you liked weird," he whispered.

"You're a whole new level," she told him.

"Why don't you tell a story about your wedding Uncle Daisuke," Tenshi requested. "That's good, right Mai?"

"An exclusive look into the wedding of a lead digidestined? Uh, duh!"

"If it's weddings you want to hear about...then you'd want to hear about a party before mine," I remembered with a laugh. "I was freaking out, see, and the guys were trying to calm me down..."

* * *

"I can't believe Sora's finally coming home," Taichi said happily. "I can't wait to see her. It's been ages. Years. Practically centuries."

"Calm down," Yamato said, rolling his eyes. It was futile on his part. Everyone—even strangers on the street—could see just how excited Yamato was to finally be seeing Sora again after so long. I was just thrilled she deemed _my_ wedding important enough, since Jun's obviously wasn't.

* * *

"I came back for Koushiro and Mimi's wedding, in case you guys forgot. But I was still settling into life at school when Jun's wedding came around. I thought I could handle coming back, but when the time came, I realized that no, I couldn't. You and Kurayami were different though. You guys are such good and close friends. I couldn't leave you guys in the lurch."

"And we appreciate it," Kurayami said. "Really. You don't know how much I needed you that day."

"I think I've got an idea," Sora said with a wink.

"Don't jump ahead of the story," Rei said, glaring at Taichi just a little. "I want to see what went on here."

"Fine," I sighed. "So, yeah, Sora was coming back for my wedding—sorry, mine and Kurayami's wedding—and everyone was just buzzing about it. They seemed more excited about Sora than the actually wedding. But that was okay, because _I_ was excited about the wedding enough for the lot of us. The girls were actually all off having fun watching cheesy romance movies and gorging on pizza and popcorn while the guys took me out for a night of fun before the big day. I was having loads of fun. I was pretty close to dancing on tables that how much fun I was having. And they were all discussing Sora. A lot of it's actually pretty hazy, but I'll fill in as many blanks as I can."

"Why can't you remember?" Osamu asked.

"Except that question," I said grinning embarrassedly. "Any _other_ questions."

"Just tell the story," Kurayami ordered.

I obeyed.

* * *

"Guys, guys, guys," I said struggling to get the word out. "Watch me. Watch me. Watch me. I gonna go, go stand, stand on my head. Just watch me. Watch me. Guys, guys, guys, gu—"

"Sit down, big guy," Jou said, grabbing my arm and pulling me into a seat.

"I can do it. Really. I can," I insisted.

"Yes, but we're going to talk for a bit. Here, eat the breadsticks. You need them," Ken said, shoving two baskets of breadsticks into my face.

"Oh yum. I like these," I said, grabbing two and trying to eat them all at once.

* * *

"Why?" Chika asked.

"Why not?" I said with an awkward laugh.

"You could choke," Chika said, answering my rhetorical question.

"He was just being ridiculous sweetie," Mimi said. "Just ignore him."

"Why?" Makoto said with a laugh. "Stupid Daisuke is hilarious."

"When is he not stupid?" Koushiro joked—I think. Both he and Makoto seemed to think it was funny, so I assumed I was right about the joke thing. Maybe.

* * *

"You know, I think Sora's coming just because she can't bear to miss whatever tries to ruin the wedding," Takeru decided. "She's probably making an account of all the things that _have_ gone wrong so she can prevent them at her own."

"My wedding's gonna be ruined!" I shouted, spitting out the breadsticks. "It can't. We worked so hard! Oh, she'll never marry me now. Oh woe is me!"

* * *

"That's not what you said," Ken pointed out.

"We can understand it too well," Takeru laughed.

"I was paraphrasing for the sake of the children," I hissed.

"If you were worried about the children, you wouldn't have told this particular story," Jou said rolling his eyes.

* * *

"Only one wedding's been cancelled so far," Ken said consolably.

"And it was really just postponed," Jou pointed out. "For noble reasons, of course. You'll be fine."

"If Ken and Miyako made it down the aisle with everything that went wrong for them, you two will be just fine," Yamato laughed.

"Hey, at least we didn't get attacked by digimon," Ken said defensively.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Jou snapped.

"And then have the world nearly end," Ken continued.

"Uh, huh, at least we were married," Jou said.

"Not legally," Koushiro mentioned. "Not until later."

"At least my wedding wasn't as bad as yours," Jou argued.

"It wasn't...so...bad," Koushiro said, lying through his teeth. "It was the best day of my life."

"You sound like a robot," I pointed out before giggling.

"Mimi went crazy over everybody and everything. I'm surprised you lived through the weekend," Taichi said seriously. "I wasn't sure if I was renting the tux for your wedding or your funeral."

"She was a little high strung is all," Koushiro said, vehemently defending his wife.

* * *

"Aww," Mimi and Louisa cooed, much to Koushiro's embarrassment. And Makoto's too, since his friends started teasing him.

* * *

"High strung? A _little_?" Hideto asked. "The girl got twice as bad when her mother showed up. Between the two of them I thought Takeru would get the plot for a sixth book."

"Especially when Mimi exploded and made Lilymon freaking _dark_ digivolve. We could've all died," Michael cried dramatically. "It was one of the most terrifying moments in my entire life."

"And that's saying something," Kiyoko intoned.

* * *

"Big word," Kurayami teased.

"Yeah, I got this," I laughed.

"You're embarrassing," Haruki said, shaking his head into his hands

* * *

"I think it's a given. We're all cursed to have horrible wedding experiences," Taichi said solemnly.

"We'd have to," Takeru commented. "If they weren't so terrible, they wouldn't be nearly as memorable as some of the other things we've done in our lives. I'd hate to forget an anniversary all because I couldn't remember when the wedding took place. That would suck."

"It really would," Jou agreed.

"I don't want anything horrible at any wedding of mine," Neo said. "I think I'd remember it more fondly that way."

"I won't forget my anniversary," Iori added. "And nothing bad happened to Natsuni and I."

"What!" I shouted. "No way. That's not fair. Now I gotta have all of your bad luck too."

"That's not what you should be focussing on dude," Taichi said. "The kid's married."

"But he's just a kid," Yamato complained.

"He's older than me," Kiyoko said, glancing at Hideto out of the corner of his eye. "And I'm not a kid, right?"

"Right," Hideto said with a grin.

"I guess," Michael said. "But it's still not fair. I've been with Tatum far longer than, well, just about any of you. And she won't say yes!"

"Have you tried asking her?" I asked.

"Well, no," Michael admitted. "But she's sure to say no, just for the drama of it. I just know it."

"You never know unless you try," Yamato said sadly.

"But I don't want mine to fail like yours," Michael moaned.

"Low blow man," Taichi said with a wince.

"It's okay," Yamato said. "I can use the newly opened wound to write another album."

"NO!" Hideto cried.

"Whatever floats your boat," Takeru said. "I'll probably just write it into a book. You don't mind do you? That I intend to make money off of our lives?"

"All the power to you, Takeru," Taichi said, lifting his glass into the air. He'd had far fewer glasses than I did, but they were mostly catching up. That was nice.

"Aren't, uh, aren't you going to ask _any_ questions?" Iori asked. "Natsuni wants me to memorize the reactions for a documentary she's doing about our relationship. Purely for fun, of course, but still. She'll be horribly disappointed."

"Was it a nice wedding?" Kiyoko asked.

"Very nice. Very small," Iori answered. "It was just the two of us, and Jou. And Meiyomon."

"Jou," Takeru pouted. "But I'm your DNA partner."

"Did you tell Fumiko and Dad?" Yamato asked. "They're going to be _mad_ they missed the first wedding."

"I'm telling Mom later. She can tell Mr Ishida," Iori said grumpily.

"Aren't you ever going to call him by name?" Takeru complained.

"Quite possibly not," Iori said. "He's not my father, and he's not my grandfather. I don't need any other male figures of authority."

"Guys, guys, guys," I said before they could get into a full argument. "Guys, listen."

"Yeah, yeah, you can do great things," Taichi said, rolling his eyes. "But what about—"

"GUYS!" I shouted, before bursting into giggles. "Where's Willis?"

* * *

"That's what _I_ want to know," Willis said, narrowing his eyes at us each in turn.

* * *

"Oops," Taichi said.

"Hah," Yamato laughed once. "Where _is_ he?"

"Oh no," Ken said, his eyes going wide. "I didn't invite Willis."

"Don't worry about it," Michael said. "We just won't tell him. He'll never know about it. It's cool."

* * *

"Uh, _not_ cool," Willis complained. "Nobody ever tells me _anything_!"

"That was a silly story," Chika said with a giggle. "You're silly Uncle Daisuke."

"That's one word for it," Mimi said with a glare. She was clearly still sore about the way her wedding story was told.

"Maybe the next story could have more to do with an actual wedding?" Louisa asked. "Those other stories weren't very romantic."

"I guess..." I said. Why was _I_ the one chosen to talk about weddings? I was sure there were other things I could talk about. Not a lot came to mind...but I hadn't really given it much thought yet. Someone else with a more romantic side to them ought to have told these stories...

"Tell them about your wedding day, not your bachelor party," Hikari suggested. "You won't need to censor it so much that way."

"Sure," I said nervously. My wedding day, huh...

* * *

Well, I guess the lead up to the wedding itself was pretty boring really. Kurayami and I decided not to see each other before the actually walking-down-the-aisle moment, so I just got ready with the guys and waited for the wedding to start. It seemed to take forever. And it turned out that's because it was getting late. I kept checking my watch, looking at the door, trying not to look at my father's face—we had a pretty rocky relationship at best by that point, and he was quite prone to relapses. And I knew he would be pretty cruel about the whole thing if Kurayami didn't show up soon. Twenty minutes late soon turned into an hour. I couldn't exactly blame it on traffic anymore.

I paced up and down the front of the church aware that every set of eyes in the pews were following my every move. There was impatience in the air, and I could handle that. What I couldn't handle was the overwhelming amount of pity I could feel. They didn't need to pity me, Kurayami was going to show up. She had to. We were getting married. It wasn't a date she could cancel last minute. We'd talked it all out over a year ago. We continued to talk about it each month leading up to our chosen date. We wanted everything to be perfect.

And it wasn't going our way.

To top it all off, Sora hadn't made an appearance at all. Everyone was expecting her—mostly because I bragged endlessly about how she was making time in her busy schedule for us. Not it looked like I was an even bigger fool. Not only was Sora not coming, neither was the bride.

* * *

"You're not romantic at all," Louisa cried. "This is a depressing story. I wanted a cute,_ love_ story."

"Give it time," Tatum told her daughter.

* * *

"I knew she was a bad choice." I could hear Dad, even though he was trying to be quiet. I glared at him anyway. How dare he say that? Kurayami was literally made for me. He didn't know what he was talking about.

"Hush Manabu," Mom shushed him.

"Well she hasn't arrived," Dad said. "She should've been here nearly two hours ago. You can't tell me you expect her to come now."

"I wish she would," Mom said. "Look at him. He's so nervous."

"I'll never forgive her if she doesn't," Dad vowed.

"Don't be that way," Mom said softly.

"No son of mine will me made a fool," Dad declared.

*Ping!*

* * *

"Please tell me you did not just imitate your phone's ringtone," Emiko pleaded. "It's just too embarrassing for words. Besides, this story is boring. Can't I tell mine now?"

"No, Emiko," Jou said. "It's Daisuke's turn. You can have one later. I promise."

"I'll hold you to it," she promised.

* * *

I looked down to my phone and sighed. And not in relief.

_Daisuke, I'm sorry, but I'm not coming._

My life was over!

* * *

"And he calls _me_ dramatic," Michael joked.

* * *

"It looks like you can all go home everyone," I said forcing a grin onto my face. "Kurayami just sent word that she'll be unable to make it, and that we shouldn't waste your time anymore. Sorry for the inconvenience."

The pity was worse now. But I kept that grin firmly on my face. While my dad was surely not planning on forgiving Kurayami...ever, he seemed to be proud of the way I was handling things. He gently, yet firmly led my mother from the church when it became clear she didn't plan to leave. I sent Ken away, and Hikari, and all the other digidestined that _weren't_ in the wedding party and all of the digimon. Jun wouldn't leave though. She knew I didn't really mean her. I never meant her. She also knew though that I didn't need her coddling me. It was alright for her to just sit in the front pew and talk lowly with Veemon and Otamamon. I didn't realize that I hadn't sent away my officiate until Koushiro sat down beside me.

"It could happen to anyone," he assured me.

"But why me?" I asked. "Why this? Everyone else still got married at the end of their disasters. My bride didn't even show."

"I'm not really good at this thing," he said. "I'm not comforting. It's been confirmed by several sources. What I do know though, is logic. And l know for sure that the only way you'll get the answers you want, is if you call her and ask."

"You're right. Of course you're right, but I don't know whether I really want to know or not."

"If you don't, you'll never get closer," he pointed out. "And there could very well be a logical explanation for it all. Just, give her a call, okay? I'm going to head over in that direction, so you can have a little privacy."

"Thanks," I said thickly. I pulled out my phone and stared at it for a good long while, before I actually tried to press the familiar buttons. My fingers seemed to have moved on their own accord, and the next thing I knew, the phone was ringing and then the ringing stopped.

"Hello, Daisuke," Sora answered.

"You called Sora?!" seemed to be the general response. I ignored them, and proceeded with the story.

* * *

"Where's Kurayami? Is she alright? Why didn't she come?"

"She's right here with me. She's just scared that you'll be mad. I came to help her with her dress, and she's just in a right state."

"Stay there, I'll come and get her," I said quickly.

"She's fine. She just...I did the measurements wrong. The dress wouldn't fit, and she wouldn't wear her everyday dress, since it wasn't special enough."

"I don't care what she's wearing! I just want to marry her. Tell her that."

"I heard," Kurayami murmured. Speakerphone then.

"Come down," I pleaded.

"You won't laugh," she wanted to know.

"I might cry, if you're just to beautiful to handle," I joked.

"Thank you."

So Sora brought her down and we got married in an uber small wedding, with Jun and Sora standing up with us and Koushiro officiating everything. It was kind of cute afterwards to think back, but it kind of sucked.

* * *

"Really, that's where you're ending?" Willis said. "I want to hear more about the wedding I wasn't invited to."

"There _was_ a small reception with enough food for two hundred people. We'd rented the hall and bought the food. It didn't make sense to just not have a party. We were married, and no one else knew until the throwaway bouquet was tossed. It made for a great surprise," Kurayami explained.

"Small? Two hundred isn't small," Renjiro pointed out.

"No," Kurayami agreed with a soft smile. "But we didn't invite all of the intended guests back. Just our friends and such. Just a small gathering, with all the intended's food."

"Oh," Renjiro said. "Okay. That doesn't really sound like a story though..."

"I wanna know why she didn't want to go to the wedding," Louisa demanded.

"I already know," Aika said. "She knew that it was stupid."

"Not true!" Louisa screamed. "It's beautiful. You'll understand someday, when you older, like me."

"Nope," Aika said. "I'm never gonna grow up. Not if I hafta be like you."

"Girls," I said quickly. "I'll tell the story. There's an explanation in it, but you can't fight. First sign of a fight and I'm done. No more story, no matter where I am in it."

"Fine," Aika said grumpily, and Louisa mimicked it cheerfully.

* * *

We called Ken and Hikari—our meant-to-be best man and maid of honour—and had them call everyone for the reception. It took everyone awhile to stop walking on eggshells around me, and to stop ignoring Kurayami—because they felt she slighted me at the alter—and to just have fun. But they did it. Soon the party was in full swing, and everyone was dancing and eating and having punch. Even Emiko was getting in on the fun, dancing on tables and swishing her dress around. Kurayami and I had our first dance as man and wife, and I couldn't be happier.

My new father-in-law came and swept my bride away for a father-daughter dance and I was able to relax for the first time all day. It was pretty stressful to nearly have a runaway bride, you know?

* * *

"No, we don't know," Emiko said. "Hurry up why don't ya? I wanna tell everyone my big news!"

"Don't be rude Emiko," Momoe said with a sigh.

"Well, he sucks at story telling anyway," Emiko said in a huff.

* * *

"This is great," I said happily, flopping down onto a chair next to my digimon partner.

"What's great?" Veemon asked.

"Oh you know," I said. "Everything. I've got the best friends ever, the most amazing digimon, a father that doesn't really hate me anymore, and now this beautiful, wonderful..._perfect_ wife. Can things get any better than this?"

"I don't know, Daisuke," Veemon said.

"Me either. I'm just excited to be living the good life," I said with a laugh. Something wasn't sitting quite right though. Kurayami never explained why she refused to come to the wedding. And I was damn well going to find out. I couldn't have the best marriage ever if I didn't know what nearly stopped it from happening.

Sora came through the doors then, and everyone stopped what they were doing to watch her walking. No one got up to talk to her, they seemed to be too awed to do anything. She stood there alone, looking from one person to the next, her face getting more and redder by the second, waiting for someone to stop staring and start talking to her.

No one did.

Not until some ridiculously attractive guy walked in stealing the show and taking her by the hand and starting to dance. My eyes immediately sought out Yamato, who was actively _not_ looking at Sora. He was the only one—other than me, I guess—not staring. He was chatting up several cousins of mine, all of whom were hanging off of his every word—and all of whom Jun thought to extend invitations. They kept giggling, and touching his arm, showing their interest in a way that really didn't say much about their self-respect—so I won't go into detail. Sora was definitely trying to keep her eyes away from him too. The tension between them was building up, and Mimi and Miyako were gossiping about who this _Adonis_—their name for him, not mine—could be. The air was thick and I was getting more and more stressed. I didn't want to be in here if there was a showdown. No. I would just take this time to get to the bottom of the Kurayami mystery.

"Where're you going?" Veemon asked, as I stood up abruptly.

"Outside," I said. "Can you send Kurayami out when she finishes dancing with her dad?"

"Okay," Veemon said. He looked worried. I figured he'd be able to tell that something was wrong, but I forced a bright, happy smile on my face anyway, so he wouldn't worry too much.

The air was cool and refreshing on my face and I slumped down to the ground, spreading out on the damp grass beside a flowering bush. It smelled good. Not too sweet—

* * *

"We don't care," Makoto said bluntly.

"Fine," I said with a sigh.

* * *

It was then that Sora came outside with that _Adonis_ guy or whatever his name was.

"Thanks for coming," Sora said brightly. "I didn't know how to face them alone."

"It's been fun," _Adonis_ said.

"My friends seem to like you okay. Which is good. I didn't know how they'd react to me bringing someone they'd never met to this small party, but it seems to be going well."

"Sora," he interrupted. "You're fine, I'm fine, everyone is fine. We're having a fun night out, with loads of good food and great music. And the punch is to die for. What is even in that stuff?"

"I don't know," Sora said with a laugh. "I wasn't in charge of anything but the dress...which wasn't even used... But you're right. Why don't we get some of that punch, huh?"

"I'll get it. You stay here," he said. "You wanted some air. I'll be right back."

"I'll be waiting," Sora joked. He laughed and went back into the building. While they were talking, I decided it would be best to crouch _behind_ the bush, rather than just have my body sprawled across the grass. Initially I was going to get up and talk to them, but they seemed to be having a moment or something, and I didn't want to interrupt, and really, how many private conversations had _Sora_ listened in on? I thought it was pretty fair that I listened to this _one_. I felt a bit guilty though, and I was going to go out and talk to her, now that she was alone—since she knew why Kurayami wouldn't tell me—but then _Yamato_ came outside.

"Sora?" Yamato said slowly. Awkwardly. "Hey..."

"Oh, hi!" Sora said. Her voice was a jumble of mixed emotion. She was happy, surprised, worried, almost scared... Did I really want to be hiding here listening to this?

* * *

"YES!" Louisa and Emiko shouted at the same time.

"You should also listen to what _I_ have to say," Emiko said.

"Not now, Emiko," Jou said. "Continue, Daisuke."

* * *

I kind of peeked through the leaves and saw them hugging, but it wasn't exactly a friendly hug, but it wasn't one of lovers either. It was just painful to watch. But I managed to watch it.

"So, who...uh...who's that guy?" Yamato asked.

"Who?" Sora asked feigning confusion. "Oh! He—uh..." She froze here. "That's just Samuna. He's... a friend."

"A pretty close friend by the looks of it," Yamato pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, he is," Sora said honestly.

"A boyfriend?" Yamato fished.

"No! No," Sora said quickly.

"Sure he's not," Yamato said sarcastically. "What the hell, Sora?" I thought we agreed that we'd wait for each other."

"Well, actually, you kept saying you'd wait for me," Sora pointed out. "I never said I'd wait for you."

"How could you do this?" Yamato asked, clearly hurt.

The next thing I know _Adonis_—or Samuna I suppose—came out with two glasses of punch.

"Oh! If I'd known there'd be more than the two of us, I'd have brought more to drink," Samuna said good-naturedly.

"Hey, Samuna," Yamato said stiffly. "Nice to meet you."

"I was thinking we could go sneak some cake," Samuna suggested to Sora. I snorted. Like that was going to happen on _my_ watch. "You could come if you want," he told Yamato.

"Nah," Yamato said. "I have to go do...something else. Maybe I'll find someone to dance with. There's...well, Daisuke and Kurayami have some cousins that have been hanging off of me all night. Maybe I'll ask one of them."

"I noticed," Sora said quietly.

"Well, whatever. Bye and stuff," Yamato said. "I'm off to find a pretty girl to dance with."

"Sora's pretty," Samuna said. "Why don't you dance with her?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Sora and Yamato said together.

Samuna looked between the two and shrugged his shoulders. Yamato turned to leave, and was almost gone before Sora called after him: "I liked the song!" But he didn't stop to chat about it.

"Well, there's always the cake," Samuna suggested.

"I guess," Sora said sadly. "Let's just go inside, okay? It's Daiyami day. I need to have fun for them."

"Then let's go have some fun," Samuna suggested. He gestured for her to go first, and then sent a wink in my direction. _Damn,_ I thought. _ How does Sora always do this without getting caught?_

"Daisuke, what are you doing behind a bush?" Kurayami asked in a way that meant she really didn't want an explanation.

"Kurayami, hi," I said grinning at her.

"You wanted to talk to me?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, sobering up. "Mrs Motomiya, why didn't you want to be Mrs Motomiya earlier?"

"Are you asking why I didn't come down?" she asked nervously. Her hand moved to her stomach. Was she going to be sick? Was I making her that nervous? I didn't want to make her sick or anything. I just needed to know. Our marriage couldn't start off with such a big secret.

"I need to know, Kurayami," I pleaded.

We were both silent for a long time. Me waiting for her to say something, and her, well, she was thinking things through I suspect, hoping to get the wording right.

"If you don't want to tell me..."

"No," she said quickly. "I should tell you. I _need _to tell you. I just don't want to."

"Gee thanks," I said sarcastically. "_That_ really cleared things up."

"This is harder than I expected, Daisuke," she said. "Please try to understand."

"I can't unless I know what's going on," I pointed out gently.

"Daisuke... I have a confession to make."

* * *

"What a coincidence, I have a confession too," Emiko said perking up.

"Let him finish," Momoe hissed.

* * *

"Okay, well, it can't be that bad, I mean you _did_ come down to marry me. So it can't be that big either," I said anxiously.

"Well...it's kind of huge actually," she said hesitantly.

"Oh," I said, my stomach sinking to the ground.

"Daisuke, I don't want you to freak out, but I'm p—"

* * *

"I'M PREGNANT!" Emiko screamed.

"Yeah, that's right. How did you know?" I asked.

"I'm not talking about the story; I'm talking about my confession! I am pregnant," Emiko announced.

And my jaw dropped.

**Next on Happily Ever After: **- Legit—the lamest sounding thing ever. "Next on Happily Ever After Mr Happy will save the world from the mean rainbow fiends" Like actually.

But actually, next time is Neooooooo whaddup!?


	2. Striking Out

**Y/N:** I didn't write this one, so I think it's fair for me to say that I love it. I think we really missed out on something by not having Neo be a regular narrator in 05. I know why we didn't—we needed to keep the mystery alive after all—but I really wish he'd been around more. Maybe I like it so much _because_ he's a newer, fresher voice? I don't know, but I _do_ know this chapter is tons of fun, so you should review to let us know what you think. I hope you like it as much as I did.

**U/N:** I'm Neo here, which is strange because I don't really write as him, and his chapter is mostly a set up for a few different plot threads, but it was fun anyway. It took me about four hours to write which is strange because I usually write much faster than this—but I was very very tired, which is why it's not funny like it's supposed to be. But I hope you like it anyway.

Though, this is the first chapter I've written in a looooooong time, so that's kind of interesting to note. That Neo was the first one back—and maybe that's why it's not good, or took me so long, I don't know. I do love when you all review, as I re read the reviews while re reading the story, including all of those left in messages, and I would love to get some more to read.

**Title: Happily Ever After**

**By: Urazamayking**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters**

**Chapter 2: Striking Out**

_**Neo Saiba: 12:30 pm**_

There was quite the silence being cast over us as a group, and to be honest I kind of enjoyed it. Partially because we hadn't had much drama since Sora and Yamato got together and hadn't had any _baby_ drama since Momoe's first pregnancy, unless you counted Kurayami's, but that wasn't much drama really. But I truthfully enjoyed the silence because being around nearly twenty children was exhaustingly loud and any silence was golden. But the silence didn't last forever of course.

"Uh, can you say that one more time?" Mai asked, brushing her dark hair that she'd gotten from her father out of her face as she scribbled in her little notebook again.

Jou squeaked out a few words that I was pretty sure were "Please don't." But no one paid much attention to him, probably because he was shaking... and being Jou-ish.

"I'm pregnant." Emiko said, "Let me spell it out for you. P-r... egnant. Pregnant." Emiko brushed off the fact that she had no clue how to spell the word and put her hands on her stomach in pride. "I think it's a girl. I just have a feeling, you know?"

"Baby..." Momoe mumbled. I felt like I was one of the only people who had heard her being so close to her and all, but the way her voice was choked off told me that the second she wrapped her head around the news that she was going to pop. As in explode. As in destroy her daughter.

"Dracomon," I joked, "Better get ready to digivolve. Momoe's about to go nuts."

I looked down to Dracomon who was nodding seriously, "Roger!" He said before glowing a little "Dracomon digivo—"

"NO!" I shouted, realizing how many children were going to get hurt in the process of digivolution. "I was kidding!" Dracomon calmed down and laughed nervously, pretending nothing had happened.

But something _had_ happened. Apparently my shouting had set Momoe's mind off of the shock, and when she slowly turned her head back she was finally ready to let Emiko have a little piece of her mind.

"Are you kidding me?" Momoe asked finally. "Are you kidding? Please tell me you are because if you're not—"

"Mom chill!" Emiko beamed, "It's just a baby—it's not like one of those crazy demons that you hear about all the time, I mean—oh, no wait. It's worse. Children are gross." I had to agree with her there.

The general crowd of children all shouted their protests and I put my hand on my temples, begging for the constant headache to have just a moment's rest.

"No, Emiko," Momoe shouted, "You and I have to talk. Alone." Jou gave her a look and Momoe quickly added, "with your father." Emiko mocked her mother's words and was dragged away by Jou who was following the storming Momoe. Everyone was watching them go, Momoe fuming with anger, Jou still confused, and Emiko practically glowing with pride. There was silence as we watched them go towards Taichi's house, and then Sora cleared her throat.

"Who wants food?" She asked feebly.

"We just ate," Taichi said waving her off. "I think it's about time we got back into the story though."

"We can't tell the story without everyone being here," Elliot said completely out of character, "it wouldn't be right." I was waiting for the catch. I knew the kid well enough to know that he couldn't care less about this story. "While we're waiting let's go play." There it was. A great deal of the children cheered with excitement and ran off, mostly the boys of course, tagged with Aika who was never seen playing with the girls, but even little Chika decided to play along this time. Watching her run along, stumbling over her own feet was pretty adorable, and when she took a sharp turn to do something more interesting off by a random tree everything made more sense.

"Whose baby is it?" I heard Mimi ask over the top enthusiastically, even for her. I flicked my eyes toward her and she was standing with Michael right next to Emiko's friend Azura. "Whoever it is, I bet he's in a lot of trouble unless he speaks up now."

"Yeah." Michael agreed loudly and excitedly. "I bet Jou's gonna kill him unless he says something _right_ now." Both Mimi and Michael looked to Azura who was flipping casually through pages of the book he had brought with him, not paying them any attention.

Mimi cleared her throat harshly and said even louder, "If Emiko's baby daddy is here today he's gonna get it." Still, Azura's eyes couldn't leave the pages of his book, and Mimi and Michael had had enough. Both of them turned toward Azura and belted loudly in his face.

"I KNOW IT'S YOU!" Mimi shouted. "I KNOW YOU PUT A BABY IN MY GODDAUGHTER!"

"You're _way_ too young for this!" Michael roared, "What were you thinking?"

"I know what you were thinking," Mimi said boldly, "You were thinking, 'hm, I'm bored, let's ruin Emiko's life by putting a horrible creature inside of her!'"

"MOM!" Mimi's son Makoto shouted back, horrified, his hand clutching his chest, "I cannot believe you would say something like that!"

"Oh," Mimi turned back to her son, "Not you. You're not a horrible creature, just this one." Even I knew she'd gone too far—but then, it wouldn't be a day in the life of... us... if Mimi didn't say at least _one_ thing out of line. Now all we had to wait for was Sora's inevitable eavesdropping, Taichi taking control of something and Daisuke passive aggressively trying to take it from him, and of course, Koushiro assuming something that proves to be wrong, but no one will tell Willis the new information and he'll be left in the dark. Happens every time.

"What, so like Emiko?" Azura asked slowly, putting his book down calmly. "I'm very sorry to have upset you," He looked between Mimi and Michael, "Both of you, _all_ of you," He gestured to the rest of us, and most everyone who wasn't playing was now paying attention to him, and although he seemed to be pretty decent at keeping calm under pressure, I could see the nervousness in his eyes. Once upon a time I would have crushed him because of that weakness. "I'm sorry for upsetting you," He said again, "But I think your lashing out at me is unacceptable, and your brutal insults toward Emiko are both falsely placed and entirely unacceptable. You are a grown woman Mimi Tachikawa, and although I do understand that you were merely stating these ridiculous facts to frighten me, and to teach me some sort of lesson, I also know you are out of line. Emiko is not a horrible creature, she is the most talented and beautiful woman I know. And if she wants to keep and raise this baby I know she'll be able to. She puts so much effort into everything she does, and you all need to keep out of her business."

I looked around to see the general response and was amused to find that everyone was blank faced. I curled my lips into a smile and turned back to Azura. He was a cool kid.

"I don't know if I can do that though!" Mimi said, taken aback.

"Oh, I know." Azura said firmly. "This book series proves that none of you can just mind your own business. Except perhaps Willis but that's because no one ever told him anything."

"That's true." Willis said quietly.

"Now, I'd like to point out that I'm not upset with you for saying such a thing," Azura said to Mimi and Michael, but mostly Mimi, "but I would now like you to mind your own business until the day comes when Emiko asks for your help."

"You really think that day will come?" Mimi asked hopefully.

"Sure," Azura said. Mimi turned away excitedly and Azura shook his head and mouthed the word 'no'.

"Neo!" Dracomon called from somewhere in the distance. I turned to find him and spotted him rushing over to me, and jumping into my arms. Pal and Pul weren't far behind him. I hadn't even noticed that he'd left, I'd been so caught up in watching the baby drama. I was so glad no drama ever came with my life. "Neo they won't leave me alone."

"Are they playing?" I asked.

"No!" Dracomon insisted. "They're being mean!"

"We've talked about this." I said quietly into his ear, "Just tell them to leave you alone. The way we rehearsed." Dracomon nodded to me and smiled.

"Hey butt faces!" Draco screamed. My head instinctively backed away from him as he screamed loudly. Pal and Pul stopped midflight as they flew toward us. "I don't want to be picked on anymore, so if you do it again I'll digivolve into my jogress form and wipe the floor with you!"

That wasn't how we rehearsed it, but whatever.

Pal and Pul looked shocked and appalled. "I just... I—" Pal started.

"We were just..." Pul tried, "We were—"

"Being mean, you were." Dracomon nodded confidentially.

"We were playing monkey in the middle!" Pal argued.

"Nu-uh. That's not true at all!" Dracomon insisted. "You weren't letting me play. They were keeping the ball from me, and laughing about it! Can you believe that, Neo!" I groaned and set him on the ground.

"That's a game." I said softly. "You're supposed to catch the ball and then when you do, another person goes in the middle."

"Oh... that sounds fun." Dracomon murmured.

"It is." I assured him. "Now go play." I patted his head and then watched as he and his cousin-ish things flew off to go play again. I groaned once more and fell back into the grass and relaxed, closing my eyes. The bright sun was beating on my eyelids, and I hadn't been more relaxed in hours. It was exhausting. It wasn't until the sun blacked out that I opened my eyes to see Hideto hanging over me.

"I told you that you would be a good dad." Hideto said softly, before falling into the grass next to me. I heard in the distance one of the female children crying about something—though it could be a male child. They all sounded the same at this age. Thank God for puberty. It wasn't until Hideto had been silent for a while that I finally registered what he had said, and I groaned once more. He'd been saying that for years, and it was starting to get annoying. "You do so well with Dracomon."

"Don't really care." I told him in a low quiet voice as I closed my eyes again. "I don't want kids—and even if I did, how could I have one without someone who could—you know—carry the baby for nine months?"

"Adoption? Surrogacy?" Hideto suggested, "There are options you know."

"Hideto." I said firmly, "I just really don't want kids. I'm fine seeing them from afar." Unfortunately for me though, the kids were apparently _not_ okay with seeing _me_ from afar. With a thud and an 'oomph' from me, my eyes had flung open to see two little girls sitting on top of me. Iris and Madlyn. Of course. Izumi was sitting on top of Hideto next to me, and Shouta was standing nearby, trying to find a way into the game, but feeling too shy to actually jump in. I reached over and grabbed him around the waist and pulled him in with a roar. He screamed and began laughing as I jumped to my feet, making sure the girls didn't fall too hard and then we were playing again, with the kids. How was it that every time I came to these things I ended up playing with children?

After much running around, we were eventually stopped by Rei who told us that we were going to try to calm things down a bit so as to not disrupt Emiko and her conversation with her parents.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Gomamon was saying, "Jou's getting all worked up about nothing."

"Again," He and Palmon agreed together.

"Well it's his baby!" Biyomon protested, "He cares about her and feels that since she's now going to be in charge of another life that she is no longer his baby."

"So he feels he won't be needed anymore?" Gomamon asked, "This sounds familiar."

"Been there, done that." Palmon agreed again.

"I know, I know," Biyomon sighed, "We've all been there when our partners had children of their own, but wouldn't that make us more sympathetic?"

"Maybe," Gomamon agreed, looking over his shoulder toward Jou.

"I'm with you." Bearmon said to Biyomon who giggled and flew off with Bearmon running by her side.

I really hated these annual meetings. Not that I didn't like these people, I wasn't evil anymore, it was always just the same thing. Drama, and too many things to keep track of. I hated not being in full awareness. But there were nearly ninety bodies to keep track of and my eyes were always flying around, trying to keep track of everyone, but it was just not possible. Rei however had a good plan. She gathered all the children and many of the digimon in a large circle in the field ready to play a game. As I looked back I found that only the parents were left in the picnic area and they all looked either totally relieved, or entirely defeated. Mimi had her hand on her head as she sat with Koushiro and Yamato, the two of which were drinking something that looked like grape juice, and laughing at Mimi. Sora was sitting with Willis and Hikari, as the latter punched Willis in the arm playfully and they laughed loudly. Takeru was with Taichi and Daisuke all looking toward Haruki who was now wearing the goggles. I imagined them to be wondering what adventures the kids would get into. Miyako was sitting with Iori, Ken and Natsuni on the picnic table, the four of them sneaking the snack food, but I was sure no one would mind. Willis, Michael and Tatum were helping Rei off with the children, and lastly Hideto, Kiyoko and Mari were sitting with their backs against a large tree, talking quietly with one another.

The only person who looked as alone as I did was Azura and so I walked toward him and sat down across from him. He looked up and tried to smile, but failed.

"I don't care about the baby drama." I said stiffly, "if that's what you're worried about."

Azura shrugged, "I'm just in a strange mood, do you know what I mean?" He asked, but I didn't and I told him as such. "I digress," he said reminding me of Koushiro, almost sickeningly so too, "I was mostly pondering what happened after the battle."

"Daisuke was telling you the story though," I told him.

"With your relationships, yes," Azura confirmed, "But more seriously, what happened with the fight for good and evil?"

"We won, there is no more fighting." I told him, "I run the knights now though, so we take care of any bad digimon uprising that may occur." He nodded as if that made perfect sense which pleased me, "Furthermore, the crests are in our hearts and they'll stay there forever." Azura seemed suddenly curious about something and looked up to think through it properly, "Though I suppose that could only work until we die... and although the crests aren't really needed any longer, they..._ are_ what is keeping the worlds balanced."

"Exactly what I was just wondering." Azura said, "What happens when you all die? Not to be offensive or any such thing, but it could happen at any moment. What happens to the crests?"

"I guess they would pass down to our children." Natsuni said, eavesdropping on us. She, Miyako, Ken and Iori had relocated to our table a moment later.

"But we have three children and only two crests to share," Miyako said softly to Ken.

"You can take mine!" I decided, pointing to the baby in her arms. "Then you can't ever lie to mommy, and you'll be her favourite." Miyako smiled at me, and offered to let me hold Taro, but I shook my head. I wasn't very good with children.

"What about Emiko then?" Iori asked, "if Renjiro takes Jou's crest of faith, then Emiko is left with nothing."

"Wouldn't Emiko take faith, being the eldest?" Azura asked. We all thought for a moment, and decided that Emiko wasn't fit for faith, and as one each of us shook our heads. "Perhaps Hideto's crest of Pride, or Kiyoko's crest of Desire?" Azura suggested. "They have only one daughter, don't they?"

"They may adopt more though." Natsuni said, "I guess Emiko's out of luck."

"I think her luck ran out when she got pregnant." Miyako said, but immediately turned to Azura and tried to explain that she was happy for the baby, really she was, she just doesn't think Jou and Momoe are.

Completely ignoring Miyako, Azura said, "if not every child has a crest, then Taro might not need one after all, though." He then turned to me, "Which means you're free to have a baby."

"I don't want a baby," I told him. "I'd have one if I wanted one."

"Are you married?" Azura asked.

"Are _you_?" I shot back.

"I see your point," He said with a small smile, "But completely moving aside from the crest and baby issues... are you? Married?"

"Well... my relationships have had a lot of ups and downs." I said with a laugh.

* * *

"Hey," I said cooly.

"Oh, hey Neo!" Sora smiled flirtily, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you." I told her, "Rei let slip that you like me." Sora's face fell instantly and she soundlessly said 'oh'. "But it's okay," I assured her, "I don't hate you for liking me, in fact I'd like to ask you out."

"I'd like to say yes," Sora said.

"Then I'd like to pick you up at eight." I smiled.

* * *

"You dated Sora again?" Azura asked.

"No, this was the first time." I explained, "I'm going through my entire romantic history. It's golden. You'll see."

"Sora was your first girlfriend?" Miyako asked.

"No, just the first one that mattered." I told her. I then cleared my throat, "Then Sora asked me if I was evil, I said yes, I then turned good, we sort of got back together, then we _did_ get back together, then I proposed to her, she said yes, then she said no, and we broke up, and then I had no girlfriend for a long time."

"The end?" Azura asked.

"No!" I laughed, "Wait! Katsue eventually asked me out, and we went on a date, and it was horrid. The girl is sadistic and mean."

"Like you!" Ken joked meanly.

"No, look. It doesn't matter. We broke up after two dates, that's what is important. We weren't meant to be together." I told them. "Then, after some time elapsed I decided to get back out there into the dating game.

* * *

I went to the bar I used to go to all the time and held my breath, ready for what was coming. I knew I wasn't coming out of there with a girlfriend, but I held my head high with Hideto's advice ringing in my ears. _"Be cool. Be aloof. And be a little bit mean."_ Whatever that meant.

I sat at the bar next to two empty seats and waited. It was still early, I had no clue what the night was going to bring me. The bartender was a girl though and I thought maybe I could try something on her, but she was way too pretty for me and she was probably with someone anyway.

Finally the bar filled with people, and I turned around to view the suspects. There was one red haired girl next to the karaoke machine. She was pretty I guess, so I went over to her, keeping Hideto's advice in the front of my mind. "Hey," I said to her.

"Hey yourself," She said back cutely.

"One time I destroyed an entire world." I told her cooly.

"Uhm. Freak." She said appalled.

* * *

Azura stifled laughed and ended up choking, so he turned away to cough as I looked to the others with a shrug of my shoulders. "What can you do?"I asked and the others laughed—well Iori didn't. I guess destroying the Digital World still didn't sit well with him.

* * *

The next girl I found was sitting by herself, looking at her watch, and then the door. She was pretending to wait for someone. I knew she was pretending because she sat at the only table with one chair. She wanted people to think she was unavailable. So I was going to go talk to her.

"You look sad," I said to her.

She looked up and nodded, "I guess."

"Tell me about it," I said, grabbing a chair and pulling it around.

"I'm not interested." She said. "In you I mean."

"That's fine." I said, "Just talk."

"It's just..." She was suddenly crying, "my dog just died and I just can't handle it. He was my _best_ friend!"

"I—I don't know anything about that." I said softly, "but if you want I can give you the number for the Digital Ambassador? He knows what that's like—loosing your best friend. I killed him! Haha! Isn't that funny?"

She stood up, shocked, and scared.

"Oh—he was a digimon, I forgot to mention." She was leaving already though, "HE CAME BACK TO LIFE THOUGH!" I called after her.

* * *

I pulled out of the story just to see the shocked looks on the others faces. I cleared my throat again. "I'll continue?" Ken just nodded.

* * *

I found a girl who was rolling a diamond ring around on the table. Her nose was slightly red and her eyeliner was messily re added... she had been crying. She was no longer engaged.

I slipped into the seat next to her—

* * *

"You're horrid." Natsuni said flatly.

"Sometimes," I agreed.

* * *

"Hey," I said next to her, "You alright?"

"No." She said flatly, "I'm hot. Really I'm hot. I'm hot, right?" She asked me, her alcohol tinted breath wafted toward me, "I'm smart, I'm funny, I'm better than like, every other girl in here. Why would a guy ever dump someone like me?"

"Maybe because you're vain, and full of yourself?" I suggested.

"You're honest. I like that." She said.

"Cool," I said slowly, "I had a fiancé once too."

"You were dumped you too?" She asked.

"Kind of." I said, "I told her that if she were to be with me she couldn't be friends with her friends anymore because I'm that possessive and scary."

"I don't need friends." She said seductively, leaning closer to me.

"Good, because I've been known to kill my friends' friends."

"I like a bad boy." She said, leaning closer still.

"Once I destroyed an entire world."

"Destroy _my_ world." She was now so close that the only thing I knew was the stench of alcohol.

"You're creepy." I said quickly jumping to my feet and fleeing the scene. I slipped through the crowded bar, getting as far away from her as I could, and I was buying another drink from the bartender. Her brown hair was now pulled into a braid and she had taken off her sweater now revealing that she was wearing tight black clothing underneath. She was so freaking pretty. I thanked her for the drink and she winked at me. Cute.

I found another girl, this one was almost as pretty as the bartender, this time though, she lured me to her. Which was a nice change.

"Hello," She said softly. "I've never done this before."

"That's alright." I said quietly, "I'm not very good at it anyway, so you'll probably be better than me."

"Doubt it." She said, "I was just wondering if you'd want to sit with me for a while."

"I'd love to." I told her.

"My brother told me to get out of the house more." She said with a laugh, "I'm a little shy you see."

"That's so opposite to my relationship with my sister," I told her, smiling. She cocked her head as if to ask how that was so, and so I told her, "One time I stuck a bar in the wheel's of my sister's wheelchair and locked her in our home, and when she was found I took her to the Digital World and locked her in a prison." The girl pulled her chair back a little, and stood up. "She escaped though—listen—wait!" She didn't though, and she was gone just as the others had. She was too nice for me anyway.

* * *

"It sounds to me as if you were purposely ruining the chances with those girls." Azura said, "As though you might have had feelings for someone else already and didn't care about the outcome of the night."

"Funny you should say that." I said.

* * *

"Hideto!" I shouted into my phone. "I keep saying stupid things and they keep leaving."

"Then settle your love issues with Sora and try again." Hideto replied simply, "I'm on your side Neo, really I am, but seriously, if you don't knock the girl off of your potential love interest list then you'll never find someone else."

"Whatever." I hung up on him.

I went back to the bartender and paid my dues and decided it was time to leave for the night.

"Any luck?" The bartender asked. "I saw you striking out a bunch."

"I did," I told her, "Strike out I mean. I'm horrible at this. I'm a horrible person at that."

"Everyone has done horrible things." She said, giving her last customer their drink, leaving the two of us alone to talk. "Everyone has done things that they regret, everyone has baggage, and yet everyone has grown up from those bad things. They've learned from them. Keep that in mind."

"I'll try." I said to her. "What horrible things have you done?"

"I won't ask you if you don't ask me." She offered.

"I deleted the digital world, inadvertently killed two of my friend's partners, kidnapped my sister, tried to control my fiancé's life, imprisoned my own partner, and played a huge role the destruction of the ultimate battle." I told her. "Just saying."

"If this is a competition, you win." She said, "But like I said, it's not important."

"Are you going to tell me what you did?" I asked her.

"Fine," She agreed. "I pulled the plugs on my sister when she was in the hospital."

"Really?" I gasped.

"No," She laughed, "Like I said though, my past isn't any of your concern. I barely know you." She pulled herself up onto the counter behind her and talked to me that way. "But even through all of the bad things in life, I'm sure you've done some good."

"Well I helped fight for the side of good during the final confrontation." I told her, "I think I helped my friends get together... I... uh—my job! I work as the leader for a team of digimon who seek justice."

"There you go." She said, "lead with those things. Lead your conversation with those things or a girl will just run away."

"You didn't." I pointed out.

"Like I said," She said quietly, slipping off the counter when a group of people came in the door to the bar. "Everyone has done awful things."

"I'm Neo." I told her quickly, before the throng of people could consume all of her time.

"Evelen." She said shaking my hand. "Nice to meet you Neo."

* * *

"That's cute!" Someone behind me interrupted. I turned to see Louisa standing with the rest of the kids. "Go find her and marry her."

"What happened to the game you guys were playing?" I asked Rei, hopeful that she'd take them away again.

"Oh, I won." Haruki said boldly. "I think it's the goggles."

"Yeah, yeah." Nikko said. "You win for now. Just wait until I get older though. I'll beat you no problem."

"It's a children's clapping game, there is no winner," Rei said, confused. "You didn't win."

"But I was the MVP, same thing." He said proudly.

"Tell me more about the bartender." Louisa said.

"No, no." I told her, "it's not important. Let's let someone else tell the story for a while."

"How about we continue where we left off?" Yamato's Gabumon—I think—suggested, rushing up to the table, leading the other parents toward us.

"Where were we?" Yamato asked him.

"2015 I'm sure." Azura said simply. I didn't mention it, but that's the same year the bartender deal happened, so I guess I helped the story along in some way anyway. At least I gave my character some depth—dammit! Takeru had me thinking this wasn't real life again. The books were good though, so I didn't mind too much.

"Well," Louisa said, "Tell me what happened next with Yamato and Sora!" She was looking directly at me, which was intimidating.

"Look," I said, "All I know..." I looked to Yamato who had one eyebrow raised. "Is nothing."

"I think you know something." Tenshi said, "I read the books, I know you dated Sora, in 2015 it had only been two years since your engagement, that means you still cared about her a little at least."

"Alright, alright." I said, thinking up the story I had in mind. "Is everyone here?"

"Not Kana and Renjiro," Iori said. "Where are they?"

"They're sitting underneath a tree." Natsuni said, pointing over to the sad, droopy tree the two kept sitting under.

"Every day." Iori muttered.

"It may not always be that way." Natsuni said to him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey lovebirds!" Nikko called loudly to them, "Get over here!"

Iori's face paled at the thought of them being in love, and he turned to Natsuni who just laughed. I was sure he'd get over it—it was Jou's son. How much trouble could he get into. Slowly I looked to Emiko and laughed.

When everyone was finally sitting around me I cleared my throat. "Once upon a time, in a far away land, Prince Yamato had rushed into King Neo's chamber."

"That implies you're his dad though." Koushiro pointed out.

"Okay, fine. Yamato came to my house." I settled.

* * *

"Are you dating Katsue?" Yamato asked sharply. "Just tell me the truth. Are you dating her?"

"No," I told him simply. "She asked me out that one time—but it wasn't a secret, it was on national television. And we went out twice, I told her she was too mean for me, she screamed at me for hours about how _I_ was the mean one and left, and I haven't seen her since."

"Okay," Yamato said defeated, "Then why won't she date me?"

"Maybe because you dated her for months and were in love with someone else the whole time? I'm thinking that's probably it." Yamato looked angry, but realized I was right and he sighed.

"Your house is so nice though." Yamato said, sitting down on the grey sofa in the middle of the living room. "It's so bright and nice. Why isn't my house nice?"

"Because you have a dog." I told him.

"He's a lizard pretending to be a dog," Yamato argued, "And you have a lizard too."

"Dracomon is never here." I told him, "Speaking of being here, why are you?"

"I came to ask about Katsue." Yamato said.

"And you have, now why are you still here?" I asked.

"Stop being so rude Neo," Yamato said, "I've never been here—has anyone ever been here?"

"Sora," I said. "Hideto once. And now you. Hurray, you may leave if you wish."

"I don't wish though." he told me. "I thought we were friends or something. We resolved issues and what not. Why can't we be friends?"

"We can be friends from a distance." I offered.

"You want me out of here because you think I'm in love with Sora, right?" Yamato said jumping to a totally insane conclusion that was totally true at the time.

* * *

"At the time," I emphasized for everyone.

"Yeah, yeah." Taichi joked, "Keep going."

* * *

"I'm not." Yamato said, "I'm over her. I thought I wasn't, but I am."

"Good for you," I told him, "But I don't care about Sora's love life."

"Yes you do," Yamato said, "By all means, go be in love with her. Just don't tell her to ditch me and Taichi and you'll get the whole way there. All the way to marriage."

* * *

I was interrupted by a whimper and I searched the crowd, my eyes stopping on Louisa. "It's just I love marriages."

* * *

"Why are you here?" I asked him, "Why did you want to know if I was dating Katsue?"

"I asked her out and she said she had a boyfriend." Yamato said. "So it had to be you. But she denied it... maybe it's Taichi? Is he cheating on Rei? Or Iori! Bet it's him. They're both kind of mean."

"You realize she's not condemned to the same fate as the rest of us to constantly date the same group of people, don't you?" I asked him. "She can date anyone in the world."

"True..." Yamato said softly, "You think it's Mari?"

"No, I really don't." I told him. "I don't think it's Mari."

* * *

"You thought I was gay?" Mari asked Yamato.

"I don't know you very well." He said dramatically, "You could be!"

"I'm not." She confirmed.

* * *

"Then why isn't she dating Willis?" Yamato asked. "She should be dating him—but she isn't because she's gay! Her... and... uh... Miyako could be together?"

* * *

"Hey!" Mari, Miyako and Ken shouted together.

"If she didn't marry me, she wouldn't marry another woman." Mimi said, rolling her eyes.

"I wouldn't marry _any_ woman! Or man!" Miyako shouted.

"Except for me." Ken confirmed.

"Right, that."

* * *

"Yamato, you can leave any time you want." I told him, "But I recommend you leave our group of tragic back stories to find a normal girl. A nice, normal girl, and marry her. You're a famous rock star for goodness sake."

"You're right." Yamato said. "Thanks Neo." He got up to leave and I followed him out the door. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"To see Sora." I told him.

* * *

"That was funny." Elliot said, his eyes a little wet from laughing. I hadn't even realized anyone _was_ laughing. "I mean, not the funniest story ever told, but it was cool."

"Especially the part where you thought mom would cheat on dad," Osamu said. "She couldn't do any better than dad!"

"Hey!" Miyako shouted.

"She wouldn't _want_ to do any better than your dad you mean." Louisa said, "It's so romantic."

"Yeah, sure." Kana said, "But I really don't want to hear the story of the frog umbrella again." As one a large portion of the children began chanting. "Then Taichi threw the umbrella and they caught it before being caught in the rain, and caught in the moment, and as they slowly drifted apart Ken did the only thing he knew how. He fixed the problem with love. He proposed and Miyako said yes."

"Yes she did." Ken smiled, rubbing his nose against Miyako's as Taro pulled on her hair.

"Right, well," I said, a little disgusted.

* * *

"Neo?" Sora asked as she opened the door. "What are you doing here?" She gasped. She hugged me though, "You came all the way out here?"

"I just needed to talk to you for a moment." I said trying not to breathe through my mouth. She smelled horrible. Her skin was pale and her hair was messy. "You look awful."

"Thanks," She joked, "I'm sick. I'm sorry. You can come in though."

"I'm just here for one thing." I told her, "I want to know if you're seeing anyone."

"Why?" She asked, "Oh my God! Did Yamato send you here?" She held up her finger as she coughed and looked away, covering her mouth with the inside of her elbow. "You can just tell him that—"

"No, you tell him." I said, holding out my phone. She grabbed it and called his cell phone.

"He's not picking up." She said, "I'll try his home phone." Again he didn't pick up.

"Hang on..." I said slowly, taking the phone and calling my own home. I put the phone on speaker phone and someone picked up. It could've been Dracomon, but when Yamato's voice came through saying 'hello' I no longer had any ideas as to what he was doing there.

"Why are you at Neo's house?" Sora asked him boldly.

"It's just so nice. Just don't tell him I'm here." He said, "Shhh!"

"Whatever, what did you and Neo talk about?" She asked. "What did you say to him?"

"I told him I tried to go out with Katsue, and she said no." Yamato said, "Since you're dating that other guy but keep lying about it, I no longer have respect for you." I looked up to Sora whose face was both hurt and angry, was she really dating that other guy? "I mean if you're going to date him, fine, but you shouldn't lie to me about it, you're rude and you're deceitful."

"You know what Yamato? Yes, yes I am dating him, and he's nicer to me than you've ever been!" Sora shouted, "You horrible, horrible boy! All you ever do is listen to what you want to hear, and I've been sitting here waiting for the moment to tell you the truth but you won't listen to it, so here it is: I'm never going to be in love with you."

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone and slowly Yamato said, "I hate you." And with that there was a 'click' and Yamato was gone. Sora wound her hand back to throw the phone in her hand, so I snatched it back quickly. And she angrily looked around and found her sketch book laying not too far off. She grabbed it off of the cluttered desk and whipped it across her apartment. It hit the burgundy drapery hanging from the window and it came tearing down, and now the walls looked as messy as her desk.

"Sora?" I asked, "Are you okay?" She spun around, there were tears in her eyes and she was running her hands through her hair as she spun around until she found something she wanted to kick, and she kicked it. Her dressed shook and a few things fell off including a doll that looked like it might have been Sora when she was eleven—and if I remembered her stories correctly it might have been the one she got from Puppetmon. "Are you okay?" I asked again.

"No." She said quickly, "No I'm not okay! He just told me he hates me!"

"He didn't mean it," I said, "Maybe."

"He did though!" She argued, "He meant it and now I'm here all sad and alone forever."

"What about your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend, I just said that so he would leave me alone." Sora said. "I wanted to tell him that I loved him, but he wouldn't listen and now I've said something I don't mean because Yamato spoiled everything by being... himself!" I wanted to tell her that I loved her. But it wasn't the moment, and honestly I wasn't sure I did anymore. Seeing how hurt she was because of Yamato made me realize that she would never love me as much as I could love her.

And then, she turned even paler, and she exploded.

* * *

"COOL!" Nikko and Osamu shouted.

"Not literally," I said, rolling my eyes, looking to Sora whose face was as red as her hair as she tried to hide herself from view.

* * *

Vomit exploded from her mouth and in seconds I was covered head to toe, standing still and shocked. "Ew." I managed to say before turning to leave. Well. I knew I wasn't in love with Sora anymore. So at least it was something.

"I'm so sorry!" She shouted before I closed the door. "It was nice seeing you!" Her muffled calls were heard through the door.

But I didn't care. I was going to go clean myself.

* * *

"And that's all I know about what happened after the wedding." I told them as some of the others looked to Sora with disgust and Nikko, Elliot, Osamu and Aika all laughed at how gross Sora was. Didn't intend for that to happen, but oh well, it was a funny time in retrospect, it deserved to be told.

"But what happened with Kurayami's pregnancy?" Kana asked.

"I don't friggin know." I said, shrugging my shoulders, "I don't pay attention to these things. I don't like kids."

"Rude," Kana practically growled. "We're right here."

"I know," I told them with a smile.

**Next on Happily Ever After: **Kiyoko is next up yo diggity.


	3. Are We or Are We Not

**Y/N:** This chapter is full of drama. It's kind of ridiculous how much drama I crammed into this one. I enjoyed it, and even had to write a song for it, but I hurt because of the drama as I was writing it. I tend to get really into the character I'm writing as. And since he hurt, I hurt. So why don't you leave a review with what you thought of the chapter? We'd love to hear from you.

**U/N: **I don't really have much to say here except that I really liked the chapter—it was cute and funny. My sister wrote it of course, but she's usually so adamant about her lack of humour, but I found this to be quite funny to be honest. There were a few parts at least :P

But I will take this opportunity to tell you about the future of the children in my own personal head canon that doesn't mean it'll happen, and it doesn't mean my sister even thinks the same. Because I ship some of them, not that it matters because this is most definitely the ending. But anyway, Kana and Renjiro are cute, and they'll get married. I swear it. Aika and Chika I think will grow up into an innocent love triangle with Nikko, and I think he'd eventually end up with Chika because it's just too cute to ignore. And of course, Louisa and Haruki are my new thing :P They're kind of cute—because they're so arguey—it's kind of like Romione, only totally and utterly different.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter :D

**Title: Happily Ever After**

**By: Yukiraking**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters**

**Chapter 3: Are We or Are We Not?**

_**Kiyoko Izumi: 2:00 pm**_

I wasn't sure if I was really enjoying myself. Emiko's big announcement separated the group, sort of ostracized Azura to a lot of people, and now we were telling stories that were extremely personal. It wouldn't have been too bad, if all of the children didn't turn to me at the same time like a scene from a horror movie and declare that I was the next subject. Why did _I_ have to share personal stories about myself? There weren't many that the kids might actually enjoy. They didn't want stories about me from back when I was a kid. When I was happy and carefree and you know _not_ struggling daily with the after-effects of having a demonic spirit living within my body for literally _seven years_. I spent a lot of time with Kurayami in therapy. And did lot of soul searching with Mari and Yoshie. Koushiro tried to include me in as many activities as he could—but he wasn't all that social so I didn't do a lot. And I didn't want to.

There was also that stretch of time where I tried on everyone else's personalities before I realized that I was just meant to be quiet, and that it wasn't that I didn't know who I was.

Why were they going to make me talk?

"Well?" Kana asked. "What are you going to tell us?"

"Um..." I said nervously. "What do you want to know?"

"Daisuke stopped when Kurayami was announcing she was having a baby," Renjiro mentioned. "Maybe you could start with something about that?"

"Baby," I repeated. Nothing personal for me then. "I can do that."

"Good," Louisa cheered. "I can't wait to hear about it."

"You _know_ it's a boy, right?" Haruki said. "It's me. It's not the one she's having now. It's just me."

"Yeah, but you weren't _you_ yet," Louisa sighed dreamily. "You were just a cute baby."

"He's still _my_ baby," Kurayami cooed.

"Mom!" Haruki groaned. "Stop that!"

"Sorry dear," she said, not sounding sorry at all.

"Story, daddy!" Izumi cried, tugging on my pant leg. I smiled down at her, and scooped her into my arms. She had me wrapped around her finger and she knew it. If she wanted a story, I'd tell her one, even if she wouldn't really understand what I was talking about.

* * *

She didn't announce her pregnancy for a long while after the wedding. She didn't really need to. We all went back to our own lives, and she got to be pregnant without being under scrutiny about gaining weight. I mean, I _saw_ she was gaining weight, at our sessions, twice a week, but I only made the mistake of commenting the one time.

* * *

"Gasp!" Mai shouted dramatically.

"You _never_ make a pregnant woman feel fat," Louisa said seriously.

"How did you survive..._Kurayami_?" Hiro asked conspiratorially.

"Excuse me?" Kurayami asked.

Hiro whimpered and hide behind Aika, his six year old cousin. She didn't back down though. "He thinks you're scary," she announced.

* * *

The entire room went dark and I thought I was going to die. Then she refused to have me back for two weeks, hoping that by then I'd learn not to ask a woman about her weight, which I thought was rather rude, considering the reason for my therapy in the first place was that I was struggling with the fact that I did not have the ability to think before I spoke, so really she was punishing me for something she should've helped me with. I wouldn't have gone back if Hideto didn't _make_ me.

* * *

"It's interesting and all," Mai said. "But when are you going to get to the point?"

"I don't know," I said with a shrug. "I guess I can do that now, if you want."

"I do want that, yes," Mai said with a smile as she raised her pen to her pad of paper.

* * *

I guess the story really starts _after_ the baby was born, since I was too scared to ask about the source of her weight gain and she never offered an explanation. Of course the timing of the birth caused conspiracy with everyone's parents, who'd thought they were a more sensible pair than to conceive a baby out of wedlock.

* * *

"And _no_ I will not tell you what that means," I told Louisa before she could open her mouth. She pouted, but I was in a hurry to get this story done, so I plowed on.

* * *

By that time, it was also common knowledge that Miayko and Ken were expecting a baby, so they were kind of upset when Kurayami and Daisuke sent out invitations to their own baby shower, rather than the surprise-baby-shower that Miyako was hoping it would be. But they arrived just the same as everyone else...well, except Sora. But they remembered Willis that time...so it was okay.

* * *

"To be fair, this was the week I started my internship," Sora pointed out, so it wouldn't make her seem like the bad guy. "I didn't have time to take a trip down for the weekend. I needed to work."

"And I forgave you," Kurayami said.

"Eventually," Daisuke grudgingly accepted.

"Anyway..."

* * *

"Thank you for coming," Daisuke said pleasantly as Hideto and I came through the door. "I didn't know if you would. Since we don't talk...ever. But I'm happy just the same. Maybe we _should_ talk today, so we can start to do it more often?"

"I guess," I said awkwardly.

"There're plenty of seats, find one to claim as your own," he said cheerfully. Daisuke was always a lot to handle, but becoming a dad made him worse. And he lied. There weren't _plenty_ of seats to choose from. There were four. And none of them were beside each other. It was horrible. Hideto got to be his regular social self, and I...panicked quietly whilst seated between Yamato and Taichi. Two people I never thought I'd be sandwiched between, and will never wish for a repeat performance.

Daisuke rushed out of the room and came running back in with a bundle of blankets in his arms, he lifted the baby high in the air and called loudly to the gathered guests, "Now presenting the newest member of our digidestined family...drum roll please! Haruki Motomiya! Ooh, Ah, work it little buddy!"

"Daisuke, be careful!" Kurayami hissed. He pulled little Haruki to his chest and pouted. She looked to everyone and smiled. She practically glowed with happiness. "Thank you all, really. I'm really excited for you to meet my little boy. _Our_ little boy."

"Yeah, what she said," Daisuke said grumpily.

"Oh, grow up, Daisuke," Taichi teased. "You're the dad now."

"I am, aren't I," Daisuke said grinning again.

"I can't imagine him as a dad," Yamato whispered to me. I think he expected I'd laugh. I didn't. I was more surprised that he spoke to me at all.

"Don't you want to be a dad?" Taichi asked him.

"Someday, sure," Yamato answered. "Not right now though. Especially not when I was Daisuke's age."

"Oh god, I don't think I could've handled it three years ago, no. But I don't know, I think I'd like to be," Taichi said. "What about you, Kiyoko?"

"Me?"

"I don't see any other Kiyokos around, do you?" Yamato asked.

"No," I said. "I don't know. I don't think I'd be a very fit parent. I'm not a very stable person. That isn't to say that I wouldn't _like_ kids, just that they really wouldn't want_ me_. Which would kind of suck, don't you think? Plus there's the fact that I'd have to get through the adoption process and really with my record, and everything who would put a child in _my_ care?"

"I guess..." Taichi said awkwardly. I shifted nervously.

* * *

"Hey! What are you guys talking about? You're not telling stories without me, are you?" Emiko demanded as she came flouncing back over to us. Her parents were following her, Momoe was visibly upset, her hair was messed up, and her glasses askew. The tears she'd tried to wipe away were still there, and she looked like she was falling apart. Jou on the other hand had a silent anger brewing on his face. He was resigned to the idea, but he wasn't happy about it. He was trying hard, I could tell, to not fall into his own father's old habits. But I could see he wanted to. Emiko didn't look any different. She was ridiculously happy, but otherwise, had that typical look of mischief on her face. I was worried for her brother's sake. He was always her favourite target. "So, what's the story?"

"Uh...Haruki's baby shower..." I said slowly.

"Can we...not?" Jou asked stiffly.

"Okay," I said quickly. "It's someone else's turn then."

"No! You didn't even finish a story," Mai complained. "Tell us something else."

"What do I need to talk about?" I asked hesitantly.

"Uh..." she said slowly. "I dunno. Azura, what's a question you've got?"

"I suppose there are several things I've been wondering about," Azura admitted. "I wondered why certain people that you knew got digimon partners, and others didn't. Uh...well, say Mimi's mother got one, but her father didn't?"

"He did," Mimi said. "Just after the last book ended. He's a wicked awesome partner too. He's cool like that. He's one of those Olympus XII digimon. Bacchusmon is his name."

"Other people got the other digimon from the Olympus XII too," Taichi added. "Plutomon went to Kurayami's dad, and of course Satoe has Minervamon, while TK's mom has Lunamon and Ken's mom has Coronamon. They digivolved over time to become Dianamon and Apollomon."

"My parents actually got partners too," Daisuke said. "Dad got Marsmon, while Mom got Venusmon."

"My Dad got Volcanusmon," Ken said. "He was really nervous around him at first, but I think he's _warmed_ up to him by now."

"Not funny Ken," Miyako said with a groan. "Mom got Merukimon, and Dad has Neptunemon."

"My step-mother, Aimi, I think she's mentioned in the book," Jou said. "She is partners with Junomon."

"And _my_ Dad got Jupitermon," Michael said proudly.

"I think that pretty much makes up all of the Olympus XII members, doesn't it?" Hideto asked.

"All that _can_ be anyway," Taichi agreed. "But that's not all of them. I mean the books tell you about Mom and Alphamon, and how Dad's got Kamemon. And Koushiro's parents are partners with Digitamamon and Cranimon."

"And my parents have Mushroomon and Kentaurousmon," Sora said joining in.

"And Grandpa had Kotemon who digivolved into Crusadermon," Iori added. "And Mieyomon is of course my mother's son and digimon partner. All of the other Crest Digimon are living in peace in the Digital World, choosing to relax in peace before their partners come along. They haven't said anything yet, but they're waiting. Meiyomon says that they'll _know_ when they're needed."

"I've got Bearmon," Momoe said. "And Mantarou has Pumpkinmon. And then there's Chiziru with her Gotsumon, and her son Masa has a Kunemon. Her younger two don't have partners yet, but they're young. They'll find them."

"Of course Jun has Otamamon," Jou said. "And Shuu has Meramon. Shin got a Jagamon though, and he fits in just fine with the rest. And Dad's Unimon isn't quite so antisocial now. So that's something."

"Jenna's got Kudamon," Tatum said. "And Mary found her partner as well. She's got a little Prairiemon, and Terriermon and Lopmon just love to tease him."

"It's fun," Terriermon said happily. Lopmon nodded alongside her brother.

"And you know all of these guy's partners," Rei said. "Pal and Pul did eventually give me a digivice too. And then the only other ones are the rest of the Knights, right?"

"Right," Taichi said. "Alphamon, Cranimon, Kentaurousmon and Crusadermon are almost always at that level now. And so is Hiroaki's Dynasmon. He only ever returns to Wizardmon when he's hanging out with Gatomon. But yeah, the rest of the Knights are Dracomon in his Examon form, Hideto's Omnimon, Willis' Leopardmon, UlforceVeedramon...and I've been thinking about extending an offer to that new kid. The one that wore the goggles."

"His Gallantmon?" Neo said. "I was thinking the same thing. "We could use him. Oh yeah, there's also Gankoomon too. He's kind of a loner. He's the last Knight."

"That's a lot of digimon to keep straight," Azura said, trying to file away the information in his brain. The other kids were all chattering to themselves, and I suppose I was just getting too comfortable with the idea that the others would just slip in and take my turn away from me. I was hoping for it in any case. And I thought I'd actually gotten away without having to tell anymore stories, but then Azura asked a question that didn't pertain to digimon in any way.

"And there was the fact that the book left you wanting more when it came to the particular relationship between Hideto and Kiyoko. The audience was merely teased about the possibility, but we were never given any definitive facts. And considering the attention Mr Takaishi dedicated to the relationships between all of the others, I felt that the audience was slighted in this regard."

And that was when I decided that I hated this young boy.

"Yeah," Emiko said slowly. "We hear all sorts of stuff about all the others, but I don't think I've ever heard anything about the two of you. And I was there for a lot of this stuff. Like I _should_ be able to remember it."

I hated her too.

"We're just low key," Hideto said. "There's not a lot to tell."

I glared at him.

"They'd probably think it was boring," he pointed out.

"We won't," Louisa promised. Her eyes were shining like there were stars in them. "Just tell me! I can't bare the thought of losing this opportunity. I'll never ask you for another thing as long as I live."

"That's a lie," I said immediately. "You ask me if you can watch Izumi all the time."

"Just tell me!" Louisa cried out dramatically.

"Give the girl what she wants," Hideto said.

I might've decided to hate him too...

"Fine. I'll tell them, but you'll be sorry," I promised him. "I guess it started with Mimi..."

* * *

"Put it up higher," I said, chewing on my lip. I couldn't mess this up. This was the biggest move of my career. If this went well loads of opportunities would open up for me. This was a huge deal. Not only was the building itself my brainchild, but everything inside of it was carefully selected after months of agonizing debate. I needed this to be perfect.

Not to mention this wasn't just any old job. It was a restaurant. Not an office building or a house. This was a restaurant. This was a place visited frequently by loads of people. Or it would be. Hopefully. If they didn't it wouldn't be my fault though. I wouldn't let it. That's why this had to be perfect.

"Oh come on," Hideto groaned, extending his arms to hold the painting higher. "How long can it take to slap a painting on the wall?"

"Just..." I said, biting my lip harder. "It's not right. Did I pick the wrong painting? Maybe that's it. It's not working..."

"It's beautiful," Mimi said. "Don't worry about it. This place is already loads better than before, and I thought it was near perfect then. I'm not as picky as you seem to think."

"It's not you that I'm worried about," I said with a sigh.

"It looks good, just put it up," Koushiro said. He was getting just as irritated as Hideto was. The only difference was that he was stuck up on a ladder stringing the vintage lights across the ceiling meant to set a romantic atmosphere for late night dinners. The lights would really set off the deep, olive green walls. And the mahogany molding. Only the top half of the wall was painted olive, the bottom was covered in gorgeous mahogany accenting. And the bronze light sconces and the frames on the various paintings matched the molding. There was a partition separating the diners into separate areas. One meant to seat families, the other would be kid free. I framed several variations of a "No Smoking" sign in the same mahogany frames as the paintings, and was waiting for Mimi to just pick one already. She had three on the floor, having discarded them, but she had another seven spread out on the table. She'd been debating for an hour. And she said she wasn't picky.

* * *

"I am _not_ picky!" Mimi protested.

"Sure you're not," Makoto muttered, rolling his eyes. "_You_ aren't. Ha!" Makoto started laughing, and was joined quickly by Nikko, Aika, Elliot and after a few moments Osamu joined too. Once he was sure he wouldn't get in trouble for it.

"Oh poo," Mimi said glaring at her son playfully. Chika started giggling at her mom's face.

"Just get on with the story," Hideto suggested.

"Maybe with less boring stuff?" Aika suggested.

"It's not boring," Mai corrected. "It's informative. I'm writing it all down. Be as descriptive as you'd like, Kiyoko."

"Uh..." I said. "Sure? Anyway..."

* * *

"It's too bad Tentomon or Tapirmon couldn't have come," Hideto grumbled. "They could've just flown up there and hung this stupid thing."

"So it _is_ stupid. I knew it!" I freaked.

"It's fine. Just put it up Hideto," Koushiro instructed.

"Fine isn't the same as perfect," I hissed.

"It's better than fine then," Koushiro amended. "Just put it up so we can be done in here."

"I'm getting pretty tired of this too," Mimi moaned. "And these look the same. How am I supposed to tell the difference to pick one?"

"They are nothing alike!" I informed them.

* * *

"You actually screamed it at us," Koushiro corrected. "If I remember correctly."

"You do," Mimi and Hideto agreed.

"Stressed much?" Haruki asked.

"I said it was the pinnacle job of my career," I said defensively.

* * *

"I think we're done for the day," Mimi said with wide eyes. "Someone needs a break."

"Immediately," Hideto agreed. "And food. He's always stressed when he's hungry."

"I'm not hungry," I pouted. "I just want this done right."

"Well, we'll see if we want to keep working after we eat," Koushiro decided. "If you feel up to it, we'll come back."

"If we don't come back, it won't ever get done," I snapped.

"Guys!" Mimi squealed."This will be amazing!"

"It will if we finish," I said with a glare.

"No, you don't understand," she said with a ridiculously large grin. "Sora's a big ole meanie and refuses to come and visit us, and won't actually talk to anyone except Koushiro." She glared at him here. He held up his hand and shrugged his shoulders and she moved on. "She promised me ages ago, back when she was dating Neo, so like, a long time now, but she never got around to doing it, so I thought why not you guys. Hideto can totally substitute as Sora, can't you?"

"..."

"Oh come on. It's not that big of a deal," she said rolling her eyes.

"It might not be, but I have no idea what it is," Hideto said casually.

"Keep up," she said. "We're going on a double date. It's going to be so perfect!"

I looked to the floor, feeling my face flushing and I couldn't help the small smile from spreading.

But Hideto could.

"Wouldn't that just be awkward?" Hideto asked.

"Why? I don't have a problem with you two..." she said. I glanced up, trying to seem unconcerned, and saw genuine confusion on her face.

"It's not that," Hideto said slowly. "It's just...we're not dating..."

* * *

"WHAT?!"

It wasn't the kids that were surprised as it was most of the adults. It's a story I didn't like actually sharing. I found it far more comforting to realize that no one knew. But Hideto forced my hand.

"That's what I said," I told everyone, looking to Hideto and raising my eyebrow. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders holding his hands out, to say what-can-you-do?

* * *

"We're not?" I asked. Thankfully Mimi screamed out "You're not!" just as I said it. Koushiro noticed, but Hideto didn't. So that was something at least.

"No," Hideto said, drawing the word out. "We went out once, but...it just didn't go anywhere."

"Why not?" she demanded. "You talk about him all the time. I totally thought you guys were together. Why didn't you ever say anything?"

_Yes_, I thought._ Why didn't you say anything?_

Suddenly I wasn't so interested in staying and finishing the restaurant. I wasn't in a hurry to go get dinner either. I really didn't know where to go, what to do. I just knew I couldn't stay here. But I couldn't just go home either. Who knew when Hideto would show up? We lived together. Just the two of us. Mari left us for America.

"Are you okay?"

I needed to go. Now. Really. I did. It wasn't just that I was practically cripplingly embarrassed about my assumption. It was more than that. When Sigma left me, I had to rebuild my life. And as an aspiring architect I knew I _shouldn't_ depend on any one support beam too much. I needed to depend on them all equally. But in life it didn't work that way. I had Mari, and we'd become good friends, and I had Hideto. Someone I thought I was dating. And then Mari left. I had one person and I depended on him to keep me from falling. When the one that was keeping me sane was the one that ripped the world as I knew it out from under me, I really didn't know what to do. So much of who I was depended on Hideto being there. But he wasn't anymore.

"Kiyoko?"

Who was I, really? I didn't know. I never bothered to figure it out. I thought Hideto liked me the way I was. No. That wasn't it. He _liked_ me. But he didn't love me. Not like I thought he did. Not the way I did him.

"KIYOKO!"

"What?" I asked in a daze.

"You're pale. Really pale. Are you okay?" Hideto asked.

"No," I told him honestly. "Not really."

"You should go home. I should take you home," he said quickly. "Where's your jacket?"

"You go to dinner," I told him.

"I couldn't. You're sick. You need someone to take care of you," he said, still looking around for the jacket that was resting on the back of my chair.

"Go to dinner," I said more firmly.

"Are you sure, because I'd like to make sure you get home alright," he said sounding worried. He didn't even know what he'd done to me. How could he not know? I thought it was obvious that we were a couple.

* * *

"Obviously it wasn't," Emiko said with a snort.

"How can one person think they're dating, and one person not think that?" Haruki asked. "I thought it dating depended on communication. All relationships, platonic, familial or romantic depend on communication and honesty. It doesn't make any sense."

"Aw," Kurayami cooed. "He listens when I talk about work!"

"You're too scary to ignore anymore," Haruki mumbled. Daisuke snorted, then proceeded to pretend that he was laughing at something Osamu had done when Kurayami turned to glare at him. I didn't blame him. It was pretty chilling.

"Are you going to explain?" Sora asked.

"Oh," I said, my face becoming bright red. "I thought we were going slow because we were both suffering from traumatic experiences. And he'd never really had a relationship before and I didn't know who I was. And we were healing together. And we went on a date, and he never said we weren't going to work. He just assumed I felt the same way or something? I don't know."

"Just keep telling the story," Hideto said. "They'll figure it out, right?"

"I guess..."

* * *

"I don't want you to take me home," I said a little snappishly. "Go with _them_."

"Hideto," Koushiro said. "Just let him go."

"But—"

Mimi put her hand on his arm and shook her head. I got the feeling she realized what was happening. Damn her and her woman's intuition!

* * *

Mimi snorted. "It was obvious to anyone with a pair of working eyes."

"It wasn't obvious to me," Hideto said. Mimi just snorted again.

* * *

I stood rather abruptly and nearly stormed to the door. I stopped and glanced at the table with the "No Smoking" signs on it. I picked up the fourth one, the one with the slightly curvier letters and the graphite coloured font, out of the sea of greys. "Put this one up," I said, and then continued storming out the restaurant.

* * *

"And that's it?" Elliot asked. "You couldn't have...I don't know, punched him for hurting you?"

"I was hurt," I allowed. "But I was in love with him. I never wanted him to get hurt. Not because of me. Not when I caused so much pain when I hosted Sigma."

"I thought you agreed that what he did wasn't your fault," Kurayami said.

"And I agreed that some of it wasn't," I said passively. "But I thought I was supposed to fill in some gaps in time, not go back and rehash something we've already covered."

"Touchy, touchy," Makoto said.

"It's embarrassing enough to have to tell this story," I said, feeling my face heat up just at the thought of what all I might have to tell them later. "I'm not saying anything more than I have to."

"Just continue then," Nikko said sounding bored.

"I do hope it gets happier soon," Louisa said. "I don't like break-up stories."

"I'm done with that part of the story. Nothing really happened for a couple of weeks at least," I said.

"You're not going to tell us about your initial confrontation?" Kana said.

"It could've been the best part," Elliot grumbled.

"He stayed at Yoshie's house in Koushiro's old bedroom for four days," Hideto said. "He claimed I was right, he was sick, too sick to come home. Yoshie was taking care of him. He came home after that and passed the whole thing off as a cold, and apologized for being weird."

"That's it?" Mai said sounding rather disappointed.

"Yeah," I said sheepishly. Izumi abandoned me, and crawled over to Hideto's lap. Now I couldn't even hide behind her if I wanted. Why did I have to be the centre of attention?

"Communication man," Haruki said. "You need it."

"Really badly," Makoto agreed.

"Do you want to hear the story or not?" I demanded.

"We do!" Louisa shouted.

"Then let me tell it," I said. Several of them mimicked zipping their lips shut. "Okay..."

* * *

"I cannot believe this is the last concert they're doing," Hideto moaned as we waited in our seats for the band to arrive. "They can't do this to me! What about all of their diehard fans, huh? What are we supposed to do with all of our excess cash and time? I literally don't think I can function without them."

"They're still going to be making music, Hideto," Neo said rolling his eyes.

"It won't be the same. I want the Teenage Wolves. What if their new sound sucks? What then? I'll be without a favourite band. And all I'll have to show for my years of devotion are several years worth of old t-shirts, one amazing album and a bunch of bad break-up songs. What will I ever do with myself? Follow the band members around and badger them until they reunite, that's what!"

* * *

"Really Hideto," Yamato said laughing. "I thought you were stalker-fan worthy before."

"Shut up," Hideto grumbled, pulling Izumi's fingers out of his hair. She'd been attempting to use the clumps of hair to pull herself up onto his shoulders. She took the opportunity to climb out of his lap and find a seat on the grass instead.

* * *

"Hideto, seriously," Mari snapped, annoyed by then of all of his complaining. He'd been whining worse than a kid on Time Out.

* * *

"I wasn't that bad," Hideto protested.

"You were," Neo, Mari and I argued.

* * *

"Yamato is going to be doing a sort of solo gig, and so are the other two. They're only breaking up to stay hip or whatever. All the bands are doing it lately. And I think it was just a perfect chance for them to change their name to something more mature sounding than the Teenage Wolves. They aren't exactly teenagers anymore," Mari pointed out.

"I know," Hideto said. "And the others might do alright, but it's not just _me_ I'm worried about. Yamato could never make it as a solo artist! His songs suck. And he's too depressing. Seriously, how many more songs can he sing about a break-up that happened ages ago? He's got to be running out of material by now."

* * *

"Nope," Yamato said with a laugh. "I still had a couple of years left in me."

"Dad," Aika whined. "You're so embarrassing!"

"Hey," Yamato said jokingly. "My songs have gotten much better reviews as of late."

"They'll reunite in a year or two under a new name," Mari insisted. "Just wait and see."

"Fine," Hideto said. "But I don't have to be happy about it."

"OMG Hideto," I said in a super bubbly voice that had them all looking at me strangely. "Everything will turn out A-OK, so you don't need to worry. Mari's like totally right, and you _should_ be happy. We're here at their last concert. BTW loads of people totally wanted to be here but Yamato totes hooked you up with the tickets cuz he knows you're such a big fan. So chill out and just watch the show."

* * *

"..."

"What?" I said embarrassed.

* * *

"Are you test driving new personalities again?" Mari asked hesitantly.

"Maybe..." I said slowly.

"I wouldn't go with that one," Hideto suggested.

"I don't have the energy to do it anyway," I said gloomily. "Oh woe is me. I'm so unhappy and despite the fact that my happiness is literally all lined up, I can't be bothered to be the one to take the first step. I better go write songs about it or design a new ridiculous sweater to make it look like Tapirmon."

"Yamato and Sora don't really suit you..." Neo said.

"No you're right," I mumbled quietly, slumping in my uncomfortable, yellow, plastic seat. "They're happier than I am."

"What?" Mari asked in such a way that made it clear she heard exactly what I said, and just wanted to see if I'd actually tell her on purpose. But thankfully, the stage lights went crazy and the Teenage Wolves stepped out and the whole stadium started screaming. Hideto the loudest among them.

* * *

"Not true!" Hideto gasped scandalized. "You make me sound like such a loser."

"I'm just telling it how I remember it," I said defensively.

"Whatever," he said crossing his arms and huffing. I rolled my eyes.

* * *

The music was mediocre at best, was really rather depressing overall, which really wasn't doing me any favours. But it sounded good anyway. It was pretty much the soundtrack for my life anyway. Hideto never questions anyone's mood so long as they're blasting Teenage Wolves music. It was near the end of the concert by the time the upbeat, happy songs started coming, and while one with a good dance beat was playing, I let Hideto take my hand and swing it around as he danced around trying to get me to do the same. Seeing the happy, carefree look on his face was all it took to give in and dance in front of thousands of strangers. We were flailing around wildly, and just as the song started winding down, he spun me towards him and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me to him, my back against his chest.

It was one of the moments I would have cherished before. He was always doing stuff like that. And I let him hold me despite the ache I felt, realizing that all of my cherished moments weren't as special as they'd been before. He didn't mean them in the way I took them. They were all spoiled now.

* * *

"I guess I can see how you thought you were dating. If he kept doing those cutesy things," Louisa said. "It's tragic isn't it? It's so beautiful."

"You're crazy," Elliot told her.

"Nu-uh," she protested.

"Ya-huh," Elliot taunted.

"Enough," Michael said wearily. "Just let him tell the story."

"There isn't a lot more to tell about the concert itself," I admitted. "I guess..."

* * *

He held me for awhile. The song ended and the next started up, a love song this time, rather than a break-up song, and I was lost in the gentle swaying Hideto was absorbed in. He didn't seem to realize he was holding me at all. He was too happy to hear what he considered "Classic Teenage Wolves" songs. That song ended too, and he still held me.

"Okay, this is a new one!" Yamato shouted into the microphone riling up the crowd. "Just wrote it a month ago, and we finished tweaking the music just this afternoon. You ready?"

The general consensus of the crowd was "Oh god yes we're ready, we love everything you've ever done Yamato, so why should this song be any different, I can't wait to brag to all my friends about how I was one of the first people to ever hear this song!"

* * *

"You got all of that out of screaming?" Jou asked.

"It was on their faces," I said. "It was kind of scary."

"I'll bet," he agreed.

* * *

"Oh come on," Hideto complained softly into my ear. "It won't even be very good. It's going to be about Sora again. I just know it."

"Just be supportive alright," I said, leaning my head back against his shoulder and relaxing into him. Bad move apparently. He seemed to remember all at once that we weren't dating and that he had no interest in me and he dropped his arms in an instant. I sighed and sat back down with a heavy heart.

"_We met again, just the other day.  
At a friend's wedding that didn't really go his way.  
You weren't alone, you brought a friend.  
And I realized this could really mean our end.  
I don't understand.  
Where did we go wrong?  
This game we play just goes on and on.  
Can't we meet half-way?  
We've got to do something;  
I can't keep living this way!"_

"You feeling okay," Hideto leaned over and asked. "You look pale again."

"I'm fine," I said tersely. "Just not feeling all that great."

Neo snorted. Seemed he was a quick study. Damn him.

Thankfully Mari had too much trouble with understanding relationships to catch on. I didn't want Hideto to realize how pathetic I was.

* * *

"You're not pathetic," Hideto said seriously. "Not now, not then, not ever. Okay? Don't put yourself down. Other people try to do that enough. You don't need a personal strike too."

"That's sweet," I said, "but it was past me that was thinking it. Not the present version."

"As long as we're clear on the matter," he said.

"Aww!" Louisa cooed.

"Oh, gag me with a spoon," Emiko said.

* * *

"_Oh I'm gonna give a little,  
so we can get somewhere.  
I don't wanna let go.  
We could really go somewhere.  
You gotta see it,  
everyone does.  
I'm sick of breaking up,  
We should be making-up."_

"The song's surprisingly upbeat," Hideto commented.

"A little optimistic too," I said. "I like that. Gives people hope."

"For what? Him and Sora to get together so he can finally make better music?" he asked.

"Never mind," I said. "Just listen."

"_You don't really want him, you are just using him.  
I know the feeling, 'cause I did the same,  
just to get your attention, but it didn't work out that way,  
I just pushed you away.  
I'll tell you all my tricks,  
admit to all my faults.  
Will you just talk to me,  
tell me what you want me to do?  
I just can't believe that it could be too late!"_

Hideto danced around happily. I noticed he dragged Neo with him this time. Neo was definitely harder to convince than I was. Mari put a hand on my forehead in what she probably thought was a casual way and I glared at her. I wasn't sick. Not really. I tucked an arm around her shoulder and she leaned in, tucking her head into the crook of my neck.

"Found a personality yet?" she whispered into my neck.

"No," I said. "Is sassy and awesome hard to learn?"

"How should I know?" she asked.

"I just described you, silly," I muttered back. Yamato was singing the chorus again, this time with even more determined energy.

"_Oh I'm gonna give a little,  
so we can get somewhere.  
I don't wanna let go.  
We could really go somewhere.  
You gotta see it,  
everyone does.  
I'm sick of breaking up,  
We should be making-up."_

Then he stopped singing to allow for both a drum solo and a riff off on the guitars.

"How's the restaurant coming along?" Mari wanted to know.

"Mimi finished off without me," I said grumpily. "She just took over my baby, and put up the wrong 'No Smoking' sign. And the painting really does suck..."

"And how's Hideto?"

"How's _Willis_," I countered.

"Fine, touchy subject, I get it," she said, offering no news about Willis at all.

* * *

"Gasp! How rude!" Willis said, dramatically falling into a fake faint, causing little Madlyn and Iris—who were fighting over a toy doll—to giggle uncontrollably. Of course Izumi needed to join in on the laugh fest. And the fight for the doll.

* * *

"So, why so bubbly?" she asked.

"I've found that acting really happy makes me feel a little happier inside," I admitted. Thankfully Yamato started wailing into the microphone again, saving me from any awkward questions.

"_I thought it could work out,  
I really thought it could.  
But you're being stubborn,  
and won't let me in.  
I'm sorry but I can't waste more time,  
This angst is slowly eating me alive.  
You don't want me?  
Fine!  
I'll get out of your face.  
Just don't get angry,  
when I move on.  
You had a chance but now it's gone._

_I woulda gave a little  
So we could get somewhere.  
I don't wanna let go.  
But we aren't going nowhere.  
You coulda seen it,  
like everyone does.  
I guess this is the end,  
I'm tired to breaking up...  
I guess we're breaking up"_

The crowd went wild and Hideto stood as still as a statue in the middle of a jig. He didn't move until the concert had officially ended, and half of the audience had left the stadium. Also, Neo slapped him across the face, which probably helped some.

"OW!" he shouted.

"If you want to use these stupid backstage passes, we'll have to go now."

"Fine," Hideto said. "I want to punch Yamato in the face. Let's go so I can do that."

So we did.

* * *

"Uh, no. No you didn't," Yamato said sounding confused. "I think I'd remember that."

"I meant we went backstage," I said, realizing my mistake.

* * *

We had to wait in a ridiculously long line that took forever to get anywhere. We were also squished into a long corridor. The people behind us in line kept pushing us forward, trying to get in to see the Wolves sooner. Which was dumb, because all it did was cause the people in front of them to push them back. And really, even if it got too late, and time ran out, Yamato still would've let us in. I couldn't understand why we weren't just going to talk to him another day about the concert. But when it came to the Teenage Wolves, Hideto was crazy.

"So..." Neo said casually. "I've been sort of seeing this girl. Not dating her, but we hang out. A lot."

"Do you hold hands and cuddle?" Hideto asked.

"Sometimes," Neo admitted.

"Then you're dating."

"Not necessarily," I said stonily. I looked at Mari and Neo, and sidled closer to Hideto in order to hiss as quietly as the line would allow, trying to keep my words light. "_We_ do that, and we're not dating."

"We're different," Hideto insisted. "They're totally dating."

What an ass.

* * *

"You're a mean little guy," Taichi said with a snort.

"Maybe..." I admitted with a rueful smile.

* * *

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Neo said. "But Kiyoko's right. We're not dating. She's not interested in dating. I'm not sure I am either."

"Cool," Mari said. "It'll be nice to have some fresh blood in the group. Someone that doesn't know everything about us right from the start. _And_ she won't be afraid of us."

"She's already not. I've pretty much told her everything already. I'm aiming for that shock factor. She seems _too_ accepting almost. I can't seem to get a reaction out of her," Neo said.

"Next!"

I looked to the front of the line and realized the guard meant us. I can't even say that the time had flown by, because it definitely hadn't. We'd been waiting in line for ages, and I was done with it. I would've probably walked away by that point if the guard hadn't called us forward. I didn't know how much more "_fun_" I could handle, which sucked, because I'd been looking forward to this concert for a month before Hideto went and ruined it.

* * *

"There's really no point in going on about the meet-and-greet. I wasn't really paying attention during it anyway. Hideto was mostly just complaining about the ending of the new song. I just sat in the corner..."

"And you fell asleep," Mari cooed. "Hideto carried you home, which I thought was so romantic of him...but then I didn't realize what was going on with the two of you at the time."

"You mean he didn't tell _you_?" Haruki asked confused. "But you're his friend."

"He tried to tell me, but it didn't really go his way," she explained.

"How so?" he wanted to know.

"Why don't you take it away, Kiyoko?" she asked.

"These stories aren't fun," I pouted.

* * *

It had been a couple of days since the concert, and I couldn't take it anymore. It was like Hideto was _trying_ to make me lose my mind. Again. He made me breakfast in the morning, and let me pick what movies to watch at night, while he tried to cuddle with me—something I was trying to veto as much as possible. It was like he knew that _something_ was bothering me, and was trying to make it better, but he couldn't, because it was that same behaviour that caused this whole mess in the first place.

And since I was reaching my breaking point, I knew what I had to do: Call Mari.

I knew I needed to do it quickly, so I dialled her number and started my rant the second she picked up.

"I don't know what to do, Hideto says we're not dating but I thought we were and everyone thought we were and now he's driving me crazy with the little things he does and I can't take it anymore, Mari tell me what to do!"

"Uh..."

My eyes widened. That wasn't Mari.

"Willis?"

"Oh, yeah. Hi. It's me," he said cheerfully.

"Can you put Mari on?"

"She's actually not here right now..." he said slowly. "But I can talk. If you want I mean. I can totally relate to what you mean though. Mari says we're not dating all the time. Only we totally are. We go on dates and everything. And she _knows_ they're dates, she just refuses to call them that. She says we're "hanging out" whenever the topic comes up. But we _are_ dating."

"Hideto doesn't think we are at all, and I thought we did. We don't communicate like you and Mari do apparently."

"Huh, I guess our situation isn't exactly the same...but I'm sure if you just talked to him—"

"That's not going to happen," I swore.

* * *

"Swearing is bad," Chika scolded.

"Oh dear, you're right," I said, mentally rolling my eyes. "I promised then."

* * *

"Hideto is _never_ going to know that I thought we were dating. I would seriously _die_ of embarrassment."

"Then why are you telling me about it? Secrets always find a way of getting around, even with the best of intentions. I mean, if you're telling _me_ then other people must already know—and must've known it for awhile..."

"He's going to find out?" I squeaked.

"Yeah...my best bet is to fix it before he does. Hope that helps."

"It doesn't."

"Oh well, I tried. I wish you luck. Bye!"

* * *

"Least helpful person ever," Mari droned.

"I tried," Willis protested.

"Not very hard," Emiko said, rolling her eyes. "You must suck at romance."

"Like you're any better," Willis shot back.

Everyone froze and looked at Jou and then Momoe—neither of whom looked like they were going to kill anybody, and then relaxed when they didn't say anything.

"She's right, Willis. Your advice sucked. So I went to someone else," I said.

"Who?" Emiko asked. "Sora?"

"Uh...no. I tried to call her, but she didn't pick up and when she called back I panicked and made up something about it being the wrong number. So I went to someone I could talk to face to face, and who I'd never seen judge anyone for stupid assumptions..."

* * *

"Let me get this straight. You want advice on how to fix a mess that Hideto doesn't even know exists? That seems like a tall order..."

"But Jou, I don't know what to do."

* * *

"My dad. You went to my _dad_?" Emiko said in shock.

"To my knowledge, he had one of the strongest relationships of us all, so I went to him," I said. "And he told me what to do."

* * *

"You've got to show him how you feel. Or tell him. If you don't want to admit to thinking the relationship has been a thing for the past three years, start fresh now. What's his favourite thing? How can you incorporate that into however you present your case to him? But don't go in thinking you'll win the battle. It'll only hurt more if it doesn't work. But you've got to give it your all, Kiyoko, or else you're going to regret it. If it was me, I'd actually talk with him, sort this out in one conversation, get a feeling of where things stand and if I had a chance or not. I can't tell you what to do, Kiyoko. But that's what I would do."

"I can work with that. Thank you," I cried, throwing my arms around his middle.

"No problem," Jou said awkwardly, patting me on the back. I pulled away embarrassed.

* * *

"And I left," I said. "It's really not that exciting of a story. I don't know why you wanted to know about it..."

"I want to know what you did with the advice," Emiko said. "It wasn't very clear. He's good at that. Sounding like he knows what he's talking about, when he doesn't know anything."

Jou's jaw clenched and I knew he had plans to correct his daughter, so I pushed forward.

"I took his advice to heart," I started. "And Hideto's favourite thing was the Teenage Wolves..."

* * *

I'd spent ages agonizing over a piece of paper. The words were starting to float right off the page. Jou said to do something to _show_ that I care. But it was no good. I'd have to start again. Only I didn't have time. I heard the distinct sound of Hideto's key in the lock. I couldn't very well run up the stairs to avoid him now. He'd hear me and _know_ that I was avoiding him. I was. But I didn't want him to know it.

I could've sneaked up the stairs if he went to the kitchen to eat first, but of course he didn't. He came right into the living room and looked me over from head to toe.

"You look sick again," Hideto said. "Are you okay? Really okay? Because I can take you to the hospital if you want."

I took a deep breath. Jou _also_ told me to just talk to him straight out. Either he'd like me or he wouldn't. If only I wasn't afraid of the answer. I breathed out and threw caution to the wind.

"I saw Jou yesterday," I said.

"It's that bad?" he worried.

"What? No. I just went to talk to him. He gave me some advice," I told him. "And I decided to use it. So here it is: I'm not sick. I'm upset."

"Really?" he said skeptically.

"Not just a little upset," I said defensively, as if I somehow needed to be justified. "Quite painfully so. To the point where I truly thought about moving out of the apartment."

"You're not going though," he said quickly. "Right?"

"Maybe," I said. "You might not want me to stay after I've said my piece."

"I doubt that," he said. We stood in silence for awhile. Him waiting for me to break it, and me...well I was trying to find the courage to do just that.

"I didn't know," I finally said. And the words just kept coming, rushing out of my mouth faster and faster until I couldn't have stopped even if I wanted to. "That we weren't dating, I mean. I thought we were. You never once told me we weren't. How was I to know that anyway? You said you'd try for a second date, but you never said we weren't going on one. You didn't say anything actually. But after our first date you kept spending more and more time with me, so I just assumed. Which I shouldn't have done, because it's made a fool out of me. I just wanted it so badly. Why didn't it happen? Why couldn't _you_ think we were dating?"

I was met with a stunned silence. I was too frustrated, at my wit's end. I couldn't even be embarrassed anymore. I just wanted to know if there was a chance for us or not. If there wasn't I needed to get out. There would be no healthy way for me to get over this if I was with him all the time.

"I—uh—wow," was all he managed.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked. The words ripped out of me before I could think about them. I was scared for the answer. I didn't really want to know. I didn't know if I'd be able to handle it. I was worn pretty thin as it was.

"Nothing!" he said fiercely.

"There has to be something wrong," I insisted. "Something that drove you away? Something that made it impossible for me to be liked."

"Just because we aren't dating doesn't mean you're unlikeable," he said as if it were ridiculous.

* * *

"That's because it was ridiculous."

"Not to me it wasn't."

* * *

"Then why am I alone?" I demanded.

* * *

"Wow, put a lot of pressure on a guy why don't ya," Haruki said with a whistle. "That's pretty harsh. Putting him on the spot like that."

"It's hardly _his_ fault you weren't with someone," Mai pointed out.

"It—uh—actually was," Hideto said sheepishly.

"What?" Louisa said sounding scandalized.

* * *

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Every other person you've been on a date with only lasted the one date too—even if I thought we were successful, you obviously didn't. So why is it that I got treated differently? They all got matched up with their perfect partner within a week of going on a date with you," I said. "Why didn't I?"

"Um..."

"It's because there's something wrong with me. No matter what you or Mari tell me, I know there's something wrong. You can't just recover from a full on possession. I get that. I totally do. I only live it every day. Is that why you can find someone for me? Or is it my pitiful idea of romance? I thought we were dating for three years and we never really did anything. You held my hand an awful lot, and we snuggled up on the couch in the winters and went out to dinner and to movies and it was always just the two of us. I didn't care that there wasn't any hugging going on, or any kissing. I didn't need that to feel special. To feel like you cared. I was perfectly happy just being around you, so happy that I didn't question it, even once."

"I like spending time with you, okay," he said. "And Mari left. Of course it was going to be just the two of us."

"So why didn't you just find someone else for me!" I screamed. "Why did you have to string me along? Everyone thought we were dating. It wasn't _just_ me. It was only _you_ that didn't."

"I don't know what to tell you," he said calmly. He wouldn't meet my eye. I started to feel guilty but pushed the feeling away.

"Here," I said, crumpling up the piece of paper I'd spent the better half of the afternoon scribbling on and threw it at him. "I can't do it anymore. I've been trying to fix things, but I don't want to force my presence upon you any longer. There's no point. You don't want to date me, and I'm so in love with you it's impossible for me to be in this house now that I know it's not mutual."

"What is it?" he asked. He's straightened out the page as best he could, but couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"A song," I said. "Or it was supposed to be. I know how much you like Yamato's band and I was trying to write a song about you, but it sucked and then I remembered how you don't like break-up songs anyway, and we didn't break up so much as we never dated to begin with, so I tried to change it around to be a lets-get-together thing, but it doesn't fit. Just like us."

I'd reached my breaking point by then, and shoved my way passed him into the hall, so I could storm up the stairs and lock myself in my room. But I didn't get very far. He grabbed my arm and swung me around to face him.

"No one's ever written me a song before," he said, sounding rather choked up about it.

* * *

"You cried?" Louisa said cheerfully. "That's so romantic!"

"No," Hideto protested. "I'd just gotten a paper cut, see, from the paper with the song on it, but I didn't want to complain, because it meant a lot to me and I didn't want him to feel bad."

"Sure," Makoto said sarcastically. "_That's_ what happened."

* * *

"It's no good," I pointed out.

"Not technically, no," he admitted. "But it doesn't have to be. Stay? With me. Please?"

"I can't," I said, my voice cracking. My eyes were pretty full of tears by then. I was going to start bawling any moment. And it wouldn't be pretty. I didn't want him to see it happen. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me, and holding tight. "Hideto."

"I tried," he said softly into my ear. "But I couldn't do it."

"I think we established that already," I said miserably.

"Not the dating thing, though I tried that too. I'm not good at that. It's too much pressure. I can't handle that. And I'm not as confident as you seem to think," he said. "But that's not what I meant. I tried to find someone else."

I really meant that little to him then.

"But I couldn't do it," he continued.

I was worthless to him, and worth less to others.

"Nothing felt right," he continued.

You'll never fit anywhere.

* * *

"Could you maybe stop "translating" what I was saying?" Hideto said. "It's annoying."

"They wanted a true account," I told him. "This is how I felt."

"Wow, you had issues," Aiko said with a snort.

"Yeah..."

* * *

"Why not?" I said into his chest, forcing my hands to remain at my sides. The last thing I needed was to get lost in the feeling of his arms around me.

"Nothing was good enough, they were _never_ good enough. And no one ever will be," he said heatedly. "No one deserves you."

I felt for a moment like I was some sort of punishment, forced onto others, before he loosened his grip and took my chin into his hand.

"I didn't _want_ to find anyone. No one is good enough," he whispered.

* * *

Louisa squealed and waved her hands around doing a happy little jig. "I knew it! I knew it! I _knew_ it!"

"Everyone knew it, Louisa," Michael said. "Just sit down."

"Fine," she said dreamily. "But it's so _cute_!"

"Yeah, yeah," Elliot grumbled. "Just finish the story so something fun can happen again."

"Elliot!" Tatum gasped, looking both upset and embarrassed by her son's attitude. But what did she expect? It wasn't that great of a story. With the exception of the last bit, I didn't enjoy it either.

* * *

"_You_ are," I said breathily. "You're _too_ good."

"You never said anything either," he said. "I was waiting for some sort of sign that you were still interested. But you didn't say _anything_. I thought I lost my chance."

"I don't think you ever could," I told him. My heart was beating wildly. I hardly dared to hope.

"Hmm?" he said. He was staring at me, but clearly wasn't listening anymore.

"I love you, Hideto," I announced before attaching my mouth to his. He seemed surprised, but since he didn't push me away, I thought it would be a good idea to focus on the kiss. Who knew when I was going to get another one? Eventually though, I needed to pull away.

"Um...wow," Hideto said.

"Sorry. I sort of jumped the gun on that one. I should've—"

He cut me off with another kiss. This one was infinitely better. _He_ started this one. _He_ wanted it. It meant something more.

"I love you too," he murmured, after pulling away. "And once we start dating, it won't take long to let myself fall completely _in_ love. You've got a bit of a head-start on me I'm afraid."

"We're dating now?" I asked hesitantly.

"Well, if you're gonna kiss like _that..._" he teased.

"We should get more practice," I suggested.

* * *

"There's not really much left to tell," I said.

"There's a lot more to tell," Hideto said suggestively. "Just not to little kids. Especially little kids that think kissing is gross."

"Yuck," Aika said. "I was done with the story a long time ago."

"Me too," Nikko said.

"I think there're a lot of us that are done with it," Haruki said. "It's not that it wasn't a very interesting story about your romantic history, but I think we need something with a bit more... fun?"

"And action!" Elliot shouted.

"If you want action," I said. "Mari's your girl."

"No way!" Elliot said in awe. "Mari?"

"Buckle your seatbelts kids, it's going to be a bumpy ride," Mari said with a smirk.

**Next on Happily Ever After: **Mari is next up, and her chapter is craaayyyy


	4. Taking Chances

**Y/N:** If I thought I hurt for Kiyoko, I had to have been lying. The way my brother wrote this, and the subject matter we had Mari explore during this one...wow. I don't know what else to say, so I won't say anything more, except that you should definitely review this one, even if you haven't any others. I would definitely appreciate it, and I know he would too.

**U/N:** I woke up yesterday morning and wrote this immediately, and I was in a right state for the rest of the day. Mind, I have no clue if it's good, but I hope you like it nonetheless. And yes, you are hearing these author's notes correctly, we're writing these right now. We had a year to plan and write it, and we didn't use it. We planned it a week and a half ago and are still writing it. Yikes.

**Title: Happily Ever After**

**By: Urazamayking**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters**

**Chapter 4: Taking Chances**

_**Mari Goutokuji: 3:00 pm**_

"Okay," I offered as if I knew what Kiyoko meant. "Do you want to hear about..." I trailed off, what the heck was he talking about? I'd been through a lot of horrible action throughout my life, but I didn't really know which times to talk about? "The time I beat up Marshall?"

"He came back?" Haruki asked, "After that last confrontation at the end of the book?"

"N-no," I said, taken aback, I hadn't realized he was much of a reader.

"You read the book?" Takeru asked. Apparently he hadn't realized it either, and as I looked around it appeared that no one else really seemed to believe it either.

"No way." He denied, "Books are for nerds, I just skimmed it."

"Liar." Louisa coughed into her hand.

"I'm not lying Louisa," Haruki sang, annoyed, "Just because you're too young to read something and fully retain all of the details doesn't mean I can't just skim through something real quick and understand it all." Louisa twisted her body around so she was facing Haruki who was sitting right behind her.

"For your information Haruki," Louisa snarled, "I am not allowed to read the final book. My father won't let me. It's too scary apparently, and so I have to read it in the dead of the night so I don't get the time to read it!"

"Louisa," Haruki hummed, "Dear sweet Louisa, you've just gotten yourself in trouble. Glad I could be of service to you Mr Washington." Haruki bowed to Michael whose eyebrows were raised to Louisa in a way that everyone could read.

"Anyway," I said clearly, "why don't we stop telling pointless stories and just head straight into nap time?" I looked around to the kids, it was just easier than telling them a story I didn't know.

"But I'm eleven." Kana said firmly.

"We don't need to nap." Renjiro said politely, "We just want to hear your story."

"But if you're not comfortable sharing a story about action, we totally understand," Kana smiled to me, "We don't want to push you past your comfort levels."

"Yes we do." Elliot said.

"Give us a bloodbath!" Nikko roared as Aika jumped to her feet and punched the air as if she was fighting someone.

"Snoogle!" Chika shrieked, hiding her head.

"What?" Was the general response. Chika slowly lifted her head, peeking around to make sure the coast was clear.

"Snoogle." She confirmed.

"It means to stop the violence." Mimi informed us with a shrug, "I don't know why, or where she got it from but she did, so just go with it." Chika smiled to her mother as everyone settled down.

"Maybe the kids are too young to be dealing with violence..." Kiyoko said over his shoulder to me.

"That's nonsense," Hikari said, waving her hands, "I was only four years old when I first encountered digimon."

"I was five," Willis, who was sitting very close with Hikari, his arm around her, propping himself up so he wouldn't fall, Lopmon, Terriermon, Madlyn and Iris were spread across the two of them, with Gatomon sitting at Hikari's feet.

"You should tell the story of Halloween that one time then." Kiyoko said, "that's the one I was referring to."

"Oh, yeah sure." I said with a quick nod, "I can do that." Suddenly I was smiling.

* * *

"What are we doing here?" I asked Kiyoko, rolling my eyes. He always had these strange ways of bonding, and honestly it just got a little out of hand with the last one. First he wanted to build sand castles on the beach, and then he moved on to things like walking the Great Wall of China, and then he took me to the Sahara desert where we almost died of thirst—and most recently he took me in a submarine that he rented for the day. Which would be cool usually but because of my irrational fear of everything under the water it became one of the most horrifying experiences of our lives—especially when the submarine lodged itself between two rocks because Kiyoko actually had no idea how to steer one. The pressure started to slowly crush the submarine, and then water started leaking in. It was so scary. We tried to contact Jou or Michael, but we had no reception halfway to the bottom of the ocean, and eventually Tapirmon digivolved to Bakemon, went through the submarine pushed it free and we escaped, but we had to pay for damages, which was so expensive it wasn't even funny.

But now we were in the hospital, so at least if we found a near death experience we'd be able to find a doctor to help out.

"I just want to talk to Jou." Kiyoko smiled, pulling Tapirmon closer to him. His smile was so bright lately, and there was nothing better than seeing someone who was severely depressed smile at you, so I smiled back comfortingly. "He helped me with Hideto you see, and now I want to be his friend."

"That was months ago." I told him, "At least half a year."

"Yes, seven months and twelve days." Kiyoko said checking his watch, "And two point six hours." He looked back up to me, "And I've come to see him every week since then. Usually he's at home but Momoe said he was here, and I thought you might want to come with me since hospitals are about healing and that's a good thing really."

"Right, sure." I honestly didn't know what to say...

We waited a few minutes before some girl came out of the office with Jou walking next to her. "It's really okay," She was telling him, "It's not a big deal, It's not your fault for one, and for another thing, if it has to happen so someone I'm glad it's me."

"That's... very mature of you." Jou smiled, "Have a nice day Miss Tamago"

She brushed her thick hair out of her face and smiled softly, "You as well Doctor Jou," She bit her bottom lip as if she wanted to say more, but her expression fell as Jou placed his hand on her shoulder. She then turned to leave, clutching her deep red jacket in her arm. As she passed Kiyoko and I she straightened her black leather purse, trying to smile, but she wasn't watching where she was going, and suddenly she was sprawled across the floor, a pile of magazines scattered everywhere amongst the contents of her now open purse.

Jou, Kiyoko were instantly helping her to her feet as I began collecting her makeup, pens and other odds and ends that were in her purse. Finally I picked up her phone and turned to her. She was holding her head, her hair falling through the gaps in her fingers, her nails were painted with intricate designs of different animals. Which was weird, but that's just how life is. Some people are weird.

* * *

"Like Louisa." Haruki and Elliot said as one.

"No, like me!" Chika clapped her hands together smiling broadly.

"You're weird too," Nikko joked and she threw her arms around his head causing his face to turn red.

"Ew!" He snapped, "gross!" She fell over and giggled as Aika helped her to her feet.

"He's silly." Chika whispered very loudly.

"He is." Aika agreed.

They all turned back to me and I readied myself for the story.

* * *

"Are you alright ma'am?" Kiyoko asked kindly.

"Oh God, don't call me that," She said, rubbing her head as she laughed a little. "I'm not _that_ old, am I?"

"N-no!" Kiyoko insisted, "I just thought that was a polite way to address you because I don't know your name."

"Call me Evelen." She said, once again brushing her hair from her face revealing that it was longer than I had thought. She needed a haircut—but I was one to talk, I hadn't cut my hair in years. I'd been too caught up in other issues to bother, so it was nearly always in a braid now—a very long bushy yellow braid.

"Thank you all for your help, but I need to be going," She said, rubbing her arm were some skin seemed to have broken. She was hiding it from Jou because she didn't want him to fuss over it, and I could relate to that. I had once gotten a paper cut and he whipped out a fifty pound first aid kit. "You're all very kind." She said before leaving.

"Goodbye!" Jou called as she hurried from the room.

"What's wrong with her?" Kiyoko asked without restraint. He clearly knew how to get to the point, that was for sure.

"I really shouldn't be telling you this, but she is infertile." Jou explained.

"Oh that's horrible!" I gasped, "I feel so bad for her."

Kiyoko's response though was much different, but also just as sane, "What kind of doctor are you?"

"She said she never wanted kids to begin with, so I think she'll be alright," Jou smiled before turning to Kiyoko, "I do whatever they need me to do. I've been trained in many different areas." Kiyoko nodded, still curious though, "So what can I do for you two? What are you doing here?"

"Kiyoko baked you cookies," Tapirmon said, holding up a tin box.

"You did?" Jou said over excitedly, "That's so kind of you!" He was a little confused though.

"Well they're for Emiko." Kiyoko explained, "I just... you know? She's seven now, so she seems old enough to be obsessed with treats by now."

"She is... I hope it goes away though." Jou sighed.

* * *

We all looked to Emiko who was stuffing a full piece of cake in her mouth.

"Emiko!" Momoe gasped, "You can't!"

"Why?" Emiko asked—I think that's what she said anyway. Her mother rushed to her side and held up a plate to Emiko's face, so Emiko relented and spit it back out. "I'm dyslexic not diabetic!"

"When you're pregnant you have to eat healthy foods. You have to be smarter about this!" Momoe scolded, "You're eating for two now. Be safer." She said gently before rounding on Azura, "And _you_ have to make sure she follows the rules!"

"Why?" Azura asked, shocked.

"Because you're the father." Jou said quietly, almost in a questioning tone.

"Oh, well yeah that makes sense." Azura nodded.

"I thought this was an action story." Hiro questioned ignoring the baby drama.

"If you be patient I'm sure she'll get there," Tenshi smiled.

"You're probably right," Hiro grinned back.

"You are," I told Tenshi.

* * *

I checked my phone while Jou and Kiyoko were talking about this super important secret hang out session that was taking place. I didn't worry too much about not being included in the planning of that, or not being invited because I lived in America so I was often excluded.

* * *

"You can say that again." Willis groaned.

* * *

I had about twelve unread messages from Sora and two missed calls from her as well. Why would Sora be calling me? And why was it so imperative to get a hold of me? What was so important?

I excused myself and instead of reading the messages or listening to the voice mails I just called Sora, "Hello! Mari!" She shouted into the phone the second she picked up. "Oh my God I'm so glad you called. Get over here right now." Then, quieter she shouted to someone in the distance, "Girls! Mari is coming!" I heard Hikari cheer in the background.

"No I'm not—going where—what?" I asked in quick succession.

"Oh—sorry, didn't you get my messages?" Sora asked, "Never mind, listen. Oh my God I'm so angry." She took a deep breath, "Can you _believe_ them?" I was so confused but I understood pure rage and how sentences became harder to form so I just let her ramble until I could make sense of what she was saying. "Today is my first day back from school Mari! I just finished my year abroad. It was awesome by the way, and they hired me—but of course since I don't live there I was transferred but I have a job!" She was still sounding angry which was confusing.

"Oh my God, how dare they hire you?" I tried.

"No!" Sora said, lightening up, "Listen, I called Taichi and asked if he could set up a meeting to celebrate me having friends again because I wanted to see everyone again but he said he couldn't because—you'll be so grossed out by this—because the boys were having a secret boys night!"

"Why is that bad?" I asked.

"Because he hasn't seen me since Daisuke's wedding, and I haven't seen _any_ of my friends since Neo came that one time and left for no reason whatsoever and if he tells you otherwise he's lying."

"Okay?" I tried, "What do you want me to do about it though? Break up their party?"

"No." Sora said and I could tell she was smiling triumphantly, "We're having a girls night in the digital world. No partners to up the stakes."

"That's no problem." I said dryly, and Sora froze unsure how to respond I knew she had winced so I continued the conversation, "Where do I go?" I asked.

She told me the location which was hard for me to find because I had no idea what spiral mountain even _was_ let alone where it used to be, but I used my digivice and I eventually found them—after telling Kiyoko and Jou I was leaving of course.

The girls were sitting around a perfectly round fire pit made up of stones, a pile of wood lay next to it, but even though every one of them were shivering, no fire was going. Hikari was clinging to Natsuni, a thick quilt was thrown over top of them both. Mimi was laying in the grass with Tatum and Momoe, Emiko jumping over them as if it were some sort of game and Rei was sitting in a comfortable looking lawn chair with Kurayami not far from her, the two of them talking in quiet voices about how horrible it felt to leave Haruki—her new baby—for even just the night. She missed him so much, and it was almost endearing to see how much she loved the kid. I was happy she had her happy ever after finally.

"Mari!" Sora shouted startling me as she popped up from behind a pile of firewood with Miyako. "Boys are dumb anyway." I nodded my agreement and sat down on a cooler that was probably filled with drinks and food. I was freezing though because I was only wearing a dress, a sweater and a pair of heels, but I decided to tough it out so I'd look more competent than the rest, which didn't prove to be a very hard task because I decided to try to start the fire, and I succeeded within minutes. Everyone cheered as the fire soared upward.

I stood back as the sun went down completely. "Perfect timing." Sora smiled nudging me with her elbow.

But the fire went out with a _whoosh_.

I quickly moved to restart it but it burst back to life on its own and I gasped, jumping backward. Someone was standing in the flame it was a digimon for sure, but other than his dark horns he was shrouded in a thick forest green cloak.

"I know who you are." Mimi cooed, "You're cute." Everyone relaxed a little as Mimi laughed, "Devimon? That's you right? Do you really think you can take us? We defeated Yggdrasil, and Fanglongmon even."

"Did you?" The supposed Devimon asked as he threw his cloak off to the side. "Or did your digimon?"

"He has a point." Tatum whispered, "We should get out of here." And before anyone tried to fight we ran—everyone in a different direction. Miyako was running by my side, but she was much more equipped for this type of get together—she was wearing hiking boots and track pants.

It didn't overly matter though because we lost him quickly.

* * *

"That's it?" Kana asked, "I was expecting more."

"Sorry to disappoint you." I shrugged.

"No, I meant no disrespect," Kana insisted, "It's just not what I was expecting."

"Good, because there's more." I grinned.

* * *

"We're not lost." Miyako insisted as if I'd been saying that we were—but I hadn't. We were lost though, absolutely lost with no question. Miyako had terrible directional skills.

* * *

"That's not true." Miyako blushed.

"Mother," Mai inquired, "Do you remember just last week at the grocery store?"

"She couldn't find her way out—" Osamu was barely getting his words out he was laughing so hard as he told the story, "She cried!" Miyako blushed as some of the adults and children alike began laughing.

"Oh come on," Ken tried, "She didn't _cry_..."

"She wailed like a little baby." Mai confirmed. "I have the records if you want it." She began flipping through her notebook but Miyako shook her head violently as Taro made weird bubble noises.

"Could you jump to the action please?" Osamu asked after his laughing fit. He seemed to have been voted by his friends to be the one to ask, so I nodded, I wasn't much of a storyteller anyway, I wished the story was over to be honest.

* * *

"We are so not lost." Miyako said finally.

"Yes you are." A voice behind us said. We both spun around and were confronted once again by Devimon. I wasn't scared of him though, possibly because after everything I'd gone through in my life I knew I could stand up for myself. And although he was a champion digimon which meant he had roughly two thousand times more strength than I had as a person I wasn't going back down. I was just going to use my mean vicious words to hurt and confuse him until we could get out of there.

But before I had a chance he pulled a key ring out from behind his back.

"Where did you get those!" Miyako shouted, recognizing them much quicker than I did. But soon I did realize that they were the ten keys that led to the nine different worlds. It was definitely a horrible idea for Devimon to have possession of them. "Give them back!"

"I won't ever do that willingly." Devimon said coolly, beginning his standard bad guy pacing around us. "You probably wish you had your friends here to help you."

"We don't need digimon to fight you off!" Miyako argued boldly. I hadn't seen her in action since the Yggdrasil fight, but she had clearly done a lot of growing since then.

"I meant your human friends..." Devimon grumbled, standing right next to me. I thought about reaching for the keys, but I knew he'd just get them back, and honestly I just didn't have enough nerve. "You know, the other girls?"

"Oh." Miyako said, "Yeah that'd be nice."

"TOO BAD!" Devimon roared triumphantly, leaping over my head and landing near Miyako, which made sense since she was the only one really interacting with him. He stroked her face calmly, and towered over her. "They are busy dealing with the haunting of their past."

"W-what do you mean?" Miyako asked a true flash of fear glazing over her fierce look.

"I mean that today is the day that the barriers between life and death grow thin." Devimon said, a wicked smile on his face. "The evil digimon of the past are back for revenge." Upon hearing the word digimon Miyako relaxed and grinned back at Devimon.

"We beat them once, we can beat them again." She said confidently. "And the same goes for you." Miyako reached for Devimon's hand and grabbed at the keys and whipped them through the air toward me. I jumped out of my inactive state of mind and leapt into the air to catch them, which I barely succeeded in doing. But my hands wrapped around a cold blue crystal shaped as a key. When I landed my eyes looked straight past Devimon and toward Miyako who nodded ferociously. She had a plan and as I looked to the key I could see what it was.

Go back in time, warn the others to bring their digimon and defeat Devimon and the other digimon. Of course I couldn't bring mine because I didn't have Lalamon anymore, but this was at least something to help out I guess.

But the plan was simple enough.

As Devimon lunged toward me Miyako grabbed his shins into an embrace and he face planted into the cold ground. Miyako ran along his back and grabbed my hand as I shoved the key into the air and twisted opening a vortex of time and space. I leapt into it, dragging Miyako with me, and we were suddenly being drenched in rain.

Miyako squeaked and threw her hands over her head. "What the heck?" She gasped, "It wasn't raining earlier today! You did it wrong!" I grabbed her hand and ran under the awning of Willis' front door.

"What happened?" I asked, running my braid through my open hand, trying to dry it off, "Why are we in America now?"

"The key takes you to the place in time you most want to visit," Miyako said, "I was thinking of this morning, what were you thinking of?"

"I don't know," I told her, "I was just going to come back a few hours. Maybe it screwed up because we weren't thinking the same thing?" Miyako nodded as if that made sense, but as I looked to the sky I knew that was wrong. Something was very familiar about the way the clouds wrapped around one another. The way the darkness was looming over everything as the rain came down in an endless fit of sadness. "Let's go inside." I offered, ripping the door open and shoving Miyako inside before the rain could soak through my insane amount of hair that would take hours to dry. I heard screams coming from the kitchen and I rushed there quickly.

"R-Rebecca?"

"Mary?" I asked, "Call me Mari."

"Why are you cowering in the corner?" Miyako asked. "Is that you Mr Tachikawa?" Mimi's father poked his head up above Michael's fathers.

"Because of those monsters in the sky!" Mary shrieked, ripping my heart from my chest. I couldn't breathe and my heart was beating wildly. I put my hand against the wall for balance as my head spun and ached blackening my vision.

I was rushing outside a second later barely pulling myself together, pushing open the back door and leaping out into the muddy back yard, the rain drenching me far too quickly and the mud staining my new shoes but I didn't even care. That horrible, wretched, disgusting little cockroach was standing in the yard surrounded by many different robots of Yggdrasil's creation.

I knew this was a bad idea. I'd been with Mimi saving Gennai, but this had to be different! This wasn't Gennai, this was someone very important to me, I had to be able to save her! This was important.

"Rosemon!" I heard myself scream in the distance, "Get out! Rosemon!"

I dove through the air, tackling Rosemon to the ground. She landed roughly, but hastily stood up and grabbed me around the middle soaring through the air. I froze momentarily remembering the feeling of her arms around me, the overbearing scent of roses, the feel of her silky skin, and the gentle prodding of her thorn whip in my side. I looked to her and couldn't help but relax at the sight of her. I'd dreamt of her time and time again, but never had she been so real as she was now—actually real and alive in front of me.

I looked down and saw Ogudomon fire toward the past Mari. My heart stopped as she stood in the line of fire, both Willis and Marshall rushing to save her—me—whatever. But I knew she wouldn't let a man save her—she wasn't a damsel in distress. She leapt out of the way and the blast hit the garden wall destroying it in one fell swoop.

Rosemon set me down next to Tatum and a younger gothic version of Jenna who both looked to me as if I was trying to destroy them both.

"Mari," Tatum said slowly, "What was supposed to happen?"

She understood? That easily?

"Rosemon was to die." I told her. "But it's all better now." I said, my heart inflating as I saw her standing her ground, Leopardmon fighting by her side. "The droid things have to kill Ogudomon. Only a being void of sin can fully destroy him."

"Genius," Willis said, shocked, a giant grin spread across his face.

"You're welcome." I said awkwardly as it was his idea in the first place.

"Mari!" Miyako shouted both worried and angry from the doorway. "Hurry!" Suddenly a third Mari jumped out of the doorway and grabbed Miyako, tearing toward the ground as Ogudomon attacked her. My heart stopped. That had to be a future me coming through the time tunnel again to save Miyako's life... which meant that she had died in a separate timeline, and it was all my fault.

* * *

"Oh no." Mai said quietly, "Because to save one life in the chain of destiny you would have to give another.

"Shhh!" The rest of the children hissed at her "Let her finish!" Elliot added, turning back to me.

"She's right though." I said sadly.

* * *

Ogudomon scurried his freakish legs around and shot a well aimed blast toward Marshall. I paused briefly, pondering letting him take the fall, but dragged him out of the way, saving his life.

"I knew—"

"Save your breath you useless piece of tar." I shot at him before pushing him out of my way to save Willis who was now being targeted. If that blast hit him then he'd be gone... because someone... someone had to die today. In Rosemon's place. But since Ogudomon wasn't made up of true life it would not count. Ogudomon could not die in her place—which meant one of us had to.

Leopardmon tackled Ogudomon to the ground and Rosemon landed next to me as I tore Willis away from his place in the line of fire.

"Mari," She said softly as the past Mari—the original Mari came to join her. "What is happening?"

"You..." I was crying instantly, and the look on past Mari's face was incomprehensible, what was she thinking? "Rosemon you were supposed to d-d-die! But I came back to save y-you!"I tried to continue but no words were coming out. "But someone has to die in your place and I'm s-scared I don't know what to do!"

"Mari..." Willis said comfortingly, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"If I was to die," Rosemon said before pausing, "Then it should be me who takes the fall."

And suddenly I knew exactly what past Mari was thinking.

"No." We said together. "I'll do it." Past Mari argued. "I'll die instead. I won't let you die."

"And I won't let _you_ die." Willis said quietly.

"Why don't _I_ die?" I offered. "If I die, then I die, but you'll never go back in time to save Rosemon because she'll be alive and you'll live happily—which means so will I."

And before anyone could stop me I was running out into the battle, and there was nothing stopping me from my definitive answer except Marshall. Who had suddenly leapt in front of me and shielded me from a blast that was coming toward me. His face fell and his eyes lost their power of inflicting fear. The blast dispersed and Marshall fell to the ground.

"Oh my God..." I muttered, scared. I tried to run away but instead I fell to my knees and flipped Marshall over onto his ripped open back, stroking his face. "Marshall!" This was my fault. This boy was dead and it was because I was greedy and selfish. It was my fault! I couldn't stop crying now. I had been so sure this was going to go the way I had planned. The way I had dreamt of and thought about endlessly. But instead I had just ruined another person's life all because I wanted something I wasn't allowed to have. Life was never going to give me a break and I should have known that by now.

My parents were never going to love me. My grandmother was never going to be remembered by anyone once I was gone from this earth. I was always meant to be harassed and emotionally destroyed. I was meant to be vulnerable. I was meant to be a wreck, and I was never meant to be happy. But most of all, I was never meant to have my soul mate by my side. Lalamon was always meant to die.

Before I could say or do anything else wrong someone had grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the dead boy in my arms. It was Miyako, and as we ran back toward the house we lost sight of it for something far less comforting. The cave of memories was back, enveloping us in its wet depressing hold, and all I could think to do was collapse into Miyako's arms and sob into her shoulder as she tried her very best to hold me, and to comfort me.

* * *

I had to pause for a drink of water because my mouth was very dry and I my throat was sore from trying so hard not to seem sad or cry, but as I looked around I saw a very limited variety of expressions on the faces of my audience.

There were some who were distraught, even some to the point of crying, but most were horrified, no longer thrilled by the story I was telling.

"M-maybe Kiyoko was right." Hikari said, her voice choked, "Maybe we should have told a lighter story."

"Y-you can't stop n-now." Elliot said, looking over his shoulder to ensure he was safe. "What happened? Why isn't Lalamon here today?"

"How did you fix this?" Kana asked warily.

* * *

Miyako finally kissed the top of my head and told me it was time to go home after a long while of crying. She pulled me to my feet and half dragged me through the tunnel until it finally melted away to reveal a very different feeling world. It was dark though, and we were in the same woods we were in when Devimon had ambushed us, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Miyako led me out of the trees, keeping on the lookout for anything suspicious and froze when she heard an accented voice. "Hawkmon." She realized, hurrying toward him. He was telling some story, but I couldn't focus on it. I couldn't listen and I didn't care. Finally Miyako and I emerged from the trees, and I was mostly walking on my own now, but had my hand intertwined with Miyako's for comfort. I looked down toward our hands and wiped my tears with my other hand. "Mari." Miyako said firmly.

I looked up and gasped, releasing Miyako's hand as I rushed toward Hawkmon and his chosen conversation partner. "Lalamon!" I cried out, "Lalamon!" I fell to the ground next to her and hugged her from behind. I released her a moment later so she could spin around and hug me back.

"Mari," Lalamon said embarrassed, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong." I told her smiling, "Nothing at all." Miyako had her hand on my shoulder a moment later and I looked up to her smiling but she had a worried expression on her face. I knew what she was worried about—she was worried about what had changed now that Lalamon was alive. And I was too, but at the particular moment I didn't care.

Soon though Miyako led us back to Earth and I cared a little more than I had before.

Nothing seemed too off at first, but there was definitely something ominous around us. Lalamon's little hand held in mine gave me comfort though, and that was all I needed.

"Miyako, Mari!" It was Daisuke, he was smilling at us. He rushed across the street and then suddenly was cautious, "Is it really a good idea to have Lalamon and Hawkmon out here?"

"That's precisely what I was thinking." Hawkmon agreed. "I must say, Miyako, you two have been acting particularly odd recently."

"What's wrong with having them out?" Miyako asked.

"They'll be shot on sight of course." Daisuke said, "Just put them back in the Digital World before anything bad happens."

"Why would they be shot?" Miyako insisted to know, but I didn't care _why_ they were shot or even who shot them... I knew it was ultimately because I had saved Lalamon. I didn't care how it had come about though.

"Why don't you know?" He inquired.

"Look," I barked, "I'm a little on edge here, we used the time travel key to go back in time and we changed some stuff, now please explain what's wrong."

"You can't do that!" Daisuke growled, "Didn't you learn anything from Mimi?"

"NO!" I snapped.

"Daisuke, please." Miyako pleaded.

"Fine," He said, "just move into the alleyway." We obliged, moving quickly as Daisuke checked to make sure no one saw us. Finally he spun around and said "After the fight with Yggdrasil no one trusted digimon and the fairies tried to just erase their minds, or increase the thickness of the fog—you know, the one that makes people see digimon as chairs and stuff—but it wasn't working, the hatred was too strong. Koushiro is still trying to figure out what went wrong, but no one really knows. All we know is that digimon will not be allowed on earth for a very long time."

"So... just out of curiosity," Miyako spoke up, coming to my rescue. I was hurting again. I'd screwed up big time. This wasn't as bad as Mimi's dystopian world that she created though, so it could possibly be bearable. Maybe no one would mind when I told them the truth. I looked down to Lalamon and pulled her up into my arms. They'd have to understood when I told them the truth. "No one except those chosen before Yggdrasil's invasion have partners anymore?"

"Anymore?" Daisuke asked, "Oh, right. Time travel. No they don't. Some of the ones who _did_ have a partner don't have them. Jun's Otamamon is gone, and so is Jou's dad's Unimon. And I'm sure others around the world too."

"Gone as in...?" Miyako asked, hopeful.

"Dead." Daisuke confirmed.

"That's _horrible_!" Miyako gasped, but I could only wince. My eyes were still shut tight, as I hugged Lalamon. So in order to save my own partner, not only did I inadvertently kill other's partners—other's soul mates—but I also prevented anyone else from ever meeting them again.

" I've got to go though." Daisuke said, "Katsue's waiting for me."

"Katsue?" Miyako asked, "What do you want with her?"

"She's planning our wedding." Daisuke grinned, "You didn't know? We're getting married."

"What happened to Kurayami?" I asked boldly. In the timeline I'd just come from Daisuke and Kurayami had a baby boy, one that neither could stop talking about, one that only an hour ago Kurayami was missing so desperately, and yet in this timeline she'd never be able to meet him.

"You wouldn't know, I guess." Daisuke said, sounding broken. "She... she died—four years ago." He looked to us his eyes watering a little, but he stayed strong. Only because he'd had four years to cope with this news, Miyako and I on the other hand were no longer on a level fit to communicate. Daisuke excused himself and apologized to be the bearer of bad news before rushing off. Miyako was sobbing uncontrollably, heaving long heavy sobs into my shoulder as I sat, emotionless and unable to be reached by the outside world.

Kurayami was dead. I wanted to cry like Miyako, I wanted to be the one to fall apart. I wanted to be comforted, but I couldn't. It was my fault. I was the bad guy. Worse than any of the nine great evils, none of whom had managed to kill any of our friends. I was on the same level as Arkadimon who had managed to rip one of us out from underneath us. It was my fault, all because I wanted another moment with Lalamon.

Suddenly I was passing Miyako off to Hawkmon and turning myself to face Lalamon. "I love you." I told her. "Lalamon, I love you so much. I missed you like crazy..."

"You need to go back and let me die." Lalamon said, even though I could tell it was hard. She was looking down, away from me, unable to look up. "I remember that fight well Mari. It's hard to forget a moment when three of your very best friends appear around you. You stopped me from dying, and Marshall died in my place. Then in the final battle when I fused with Piedmon—"

"We did it?" I asked, "We fused?"

"We did." Lalamon giggled, looking up to me, "Ceresmon." I nodded and made a mental note of that in my mind. "Kiyoko joined our fight in Ogudomon, but he was then targeted and Koushiro sent Eaglemon to save him—but then Fanglongmon got Kurayami, and she was taken. Luckily for us Norn had spent enough time with Kurayami to understand her crest or we'd never have won. But we still lost her. And then we lost Natsuni and Monimon. Michael tried to save them but there was no time. They're gone now. And when we came back to earth we weren't welcomed like we thought we'd be."

"Because of M-Monimon." Miyako piped up. I hadn't noticed her crying let up. "He made a movie and Katsue published it and everyone learned what digimon really are. He died so that could never happen... s-so people prob-b-bly associated Yggdrasil's monsters with the digimon."

"Perhaps," Hawkmon nodded. "That could be it." He looked uncomfortable and confused with Miyako's crying, but he was comforting her anyway, being a perfect partner.

"I need to die, don't I?" Lalamon asked.

"I think so." I choked out, barely audible even to myself.

"I think so too." Lalamon said in a whisper. "I love you Mari."

"I love you too." I told her as I hugged her tightly.

"I have a garden." Lalamon said suddenly.

"I know," I told her, "Lopmon and Terriermon found it for me. I go there all the time. Why don't the flowers die?" I asked her the question I'd been wondering for a very long time.

"I'm a magical plant digimon." Lalamon said, "Silly." She then fluttered forward and hugged me. "I'm so sorry for not being there for you Mari."

"No!" I shouted, pushing her back. "You were always there for me. You died to save me. That's how it happened. Don't apologize. You were my guardian angel—and the Winter fairy introduced us for a reason. You perfected me and made me stronger. I'm just sorry I couldn't do the same for you."

Lalamon hugged me and whispered "You were always perfect."

That was when Miyako had taken the key from my hand and used it on the wall of the alleyway. "We have to fix this. Poor Iori doesn't have a girlfriend. Poor Kurayami—Haruki!"

"I know." I said to Miyako pretending I wasn't sad. I stood up and patted Lalamon on the head one last time. I spun around, and tears were pouring from my eyes again and I was a wreck. Soaking wet from the rain, dirty from the mud, my makeup was ugly from crying, my sweater was too big for me anyway, and my hair was stuck to my face. But none of that was as ugly and as horrible as the feeling in my heart.

"Bye Mari." Lalamon said quietly. "I'll miss you very much."

The tunnel swallowed us at that moment, and I whispered my final words to her, "I'll miss you too Lalamon."

* * *

I was interrupted by Shouta screaming a wailing sort of cry as he clutched his tiny Tsunomon in his arms. Tsunomon was trying to comfort him, but it wasn't until I heard more murmuring voices that I noticed the rest of the kids were either crying or very close to it as well.

"I was gone..." Haruki said quietly.

"But you're here now," Demiveemon tried to compromise.

"Mom was dead?" Kana asked her father who just shrugged his shoulders as her own partner snuggled into her lap.

"I don't ever want to lose you." Tenshi whispered to his Salamon.

"We'll always be together." Salamon agreed.

It was a bittersweet moment really, knowing that although everyone in the world would soon have their very own version of a soul mate to live by their side, but knowing that I'd never have that again. But these kids deserved it really.

* * *

"Please don't!" I watched myself choke on my own tears as I held Lalamon in my arms. I was laying on top of a separate me while Miyako and Miyako watched by our sides, horrified as we all sat to watch Lalamon go. "Don't go!" Mari shouted.

"Mari... can you..." Lalamon said, "Can you tell me all those ideas you had?" She asked her—me, "All those things we'll do once the war is over?"

The past Mari, the one whose heart was about to be torn out of her chest looked away for a second before looking back to Lalamon, "We're going to bake a cake out of cement and get Hideto to eat it. That would be funny." I had to look away for a moment myself and the Mari underneath me did the same, pushing me off, realizing it was too late, and so the two of us sat in the doorway, on our knees, the rain splashing in at us as Miyako stood on either side of us. "And we'll... and we'll... visit my parents and ask them if they still love me, and I'll finally let them meet you."

"I'd like that." I heard Lalamon's quiet and defeated voice say and I was crying just before past Mari began crying again.

"A-a-and then... t-then w-we'll... we'll..."

"We could tell Kiyoko that we don't blame him for the scary things he's done?" Lalamon joined in, "We could be friends with him even."

"If he'd let us." Mari failed at joking. "A-a-and... I-I could follow you one day a-a-and find out what it is that you d-do on your days away..." Lalamon was coughing suddenly, and golden dust burst out of her, and I was suddenly aware that I was clutching the other Mari's arm tight. "And y-you'll be my flower girl at my w-w-wedding... and we'll... we'll make fun of my husband together—and I know you'll love him. He'd be a great guy. And when I'm famous on tv I'll c-come home... and I'll make you some d-dinner and we'll be together..."

"Forever." Lalamon agreed. "I love you Mari." And then she was gone.

"I love you too Lalamon!" Past Mari shouted through her sobs as she stared into her empty arms, and then she was hugging Willis, the only person who was there for her at that moment. Not ever. But for most of her life. The only other person who'd been there for her was Miyako.

And then Miyako was pulling me to my feet. "Are you the Mari that just found out Kurayami died?" Miyako asked, and I could only nod before Miyako smiled to me, hugging me. "I'm so sorry Mari." She said as the other Miyako hugged the other Mari. "It's time to go back now though."

"Not quite." I said.

* * *

"Oh no." Renjiro said.

"You didn't do anything else, did you?" Emiko asked, horrified.

"Just listen." I rolled my eyes.

* * *

We were sitting amongst the digimentals, waiting, staring to the other side of the room where ten new podiums were installed, each with a place specific for the ten different keys. And there they were, sitting together. And, just as we'd expected, there was an eerie scratching at the door and suddenly it was flung open. But Miyako and I were already on our feet, kicking with all our might toward the intruder.

"Not today Devimon!" Miyako roared as he flung back out of the room.

"You're not starting any mischief today!" I joined in.

"Now Leomon!" Miyako shouted.

"Ogremon!" I added.

From the hallway there was a couple of shouts, "Fist of the beast king!" "Pummel Whack!" and then Devimon was running for his life. Miyako cheered and kicked again, and I knew she was just pleased to be able to do this again after having her baby. She was quite a fit mother. Devimon's eyes were filled with fear but we chased him down the hallway where he was confronted by more danger. "Spiral Twister!" "Poison Ivy!" "Lightning Claw!" "Feather Strike!" "Retriever-Bark!" "Swing Swing" "Karate Fist!" "Goblin Strike!" Devimon was taken down quickly and Leomon and Ogremon leapt out and held him still.

Miyako laughed and high fived me, "Ready to go back to our time now?" Miyako asked and finally I nodded.

It was a relief to be back in our time. It was strange to realize how much pressure was on me in the tunnel that I hadn't noticed until I was finally free.

We joined the others after making sure everything was in order and found them all escaping the trees with their partners walking along with them.

Each of them desperate to be free of the woods. When they met up with us and each other each of them was as relieved as I was to see friendly faces. Hikari recounted her and Gatomon's cliff jumping adventure to escape Myotismon, but Gatomon let him have it in the end. Mimi, Momoe and Emiko were faced by none other than Machinedramon and Puppetmon, but Rosemon took care of them no problem with a little distraction help from Monmon. Sora was back, with Tatum cheering about how Phoenixmon had beat the snot out of Kimeramon.

"Wait," Miyako said nervously. "Where's Kurayami? And Natsuni?" The panic in her voice caused my heart to race as the two of us desperately searched the crowd for their faces.

"Right here!" Kurayami's voice wafted from the trees. The crowd parted and Kurayami and Natsuni rode in on Ogremon's shoulders as Anubismon floated behind, holding Hawkmon tightly in his arms.

"Goblimon digivolved!" Natsuni cheered, "Isn't that great?"

"We found Fanglongmon." Kurayami said with a sadistic sort of glee.

"And I ripped his head off." Anubismon said confidently. "Figuratively."

"Yeah but we still beat him up!" Kurayami cheered hugging her partner, which seemed to trigger a chain reaction. Hawkmon flew straight into Miyako's arms, Gatomon and Palmon flung themselves at Hikari and Mimi, as Monodramon, Monmon and Bearmon seemed to dance around with their partners. Sora sunk down to Biyomon's level and hugged her gently, and then I was standing alone with no one to pay mind to how much pain I'd just gone through.

"If it's alright with all of you I'm just going to go home..." I said softly, too softly—no one heard me. But I said it, so it counted. I turned and headed to the nearest digital portal, the one I had come through and I was soon standing in the kitchen I'd seen Mr Tachikawa hiding in with Willis' mother and step-father not too long ago. I knew I'd be alone though, and I although I wasn't sure I was entirely okay with that, at least no one would see me cry if I wasn't able to hold it back any more.

And then I heard a footstep, so I pulled a fying pan off of the hook by the stove and spun around ready to strike.

"Tatum?" Willis' voice came through the closed kitchen door, "Jenna?" He opened the door and smiled, "Oh it's you."

"Just me." I said pretending I had been about to cook something.

"Need any help?" Willis asked, his elbows on the raised island countertop as he lifted his feet into the air playfully.

"No, I don't need help." I told him.

"I know, but I was wondering if you _wanted_ help." He said, "You never need help, I get that, but I'm here if you want it anyway."

I turned away, blushing and smiled, "Shouldn't you be at that boys night thing?"

"What boys night?" He asked.

"Oh they didn't tell you?" I asked, turning to him.

"No, I'm kidding." He joked, "I was invited, but Lopmon wasn't, so I stayed home with her." I raised my eyebrow to inquire just where exactly she was then, and he laughed, "She fell asleep." He finally stopped floating around with the counter top and instead pulled himself up onto it, sitting tall. "Terriermon went without me. Can you believe that?" He asked with another laugh. "I told him I wasn't going to go because Lopmon would be lonely, and his response was 'kk c u then.'"

"Well that's your fault for getting him a cell phone," I laughed, turning around and flicking the stove top on. "Could you get me some eggs?" I asked as casually as I could.

"Friggin—yes!" Willis said excitedly, "I'd love to!" He was excited, as I knew he would be, for me to finally allow him to join in on my day to day activities instead of pushing him out.

* * *

"You should come over to my house." Nikko said to Willis, "Mom's always asking me to help her out, but I've never been_ that_ excited to help." But Willis just laughed nervously and looked down to the giggling child in Hikari's lap.

"You've never been excited at _all_ to help out," Rei pointed out with a laugh.

* * *

After a quick supper of omelettes, I told Willis I had something important I had to do, and so I sent him off with the task of asking Lopmon if she wanted my leftover omelette that I hadn't been able to finish. While he was gone I slipped up to my room, changed into dry clothing, this time just jeans, a t-shirt and some gardening shoes, and then I opened my laptop and used it as a shortcut to get to Japan through the Digital World.

Soon enough I was exactly where I wanted to be. Walking through the familiar trees that led to my favourite place in the entire world. A place that four years ago I had begged the Spring fairy to help me keep hidden for all of eternity. No one that didn't already know of its existence was allowed inside my perfect little sanctuary. Lalamon's garden.

I walked along the path toward the boulder at the other end that Lalamon had carved into, instinctively smelling the beautiful scent of flowers that were held inside the protective bubble. I fell to my knees at the end of the path and put my hand up to the stone again, feeling the smooth cold stone beneath my palm relaxed me as quickly as it always did, and I began to talk to Lalamon.

"I'm so sorry." I told her. "I couldn't keep you alive. I wanted to though. I wanted you to be here so bad... but it didn't work. It's all my fault though... I love you though. I miss you." I had finally resolved myself to the understanding that I would never see her again. She was gone, and I'd have to move on.

And suddenly a shiver shot down my spine and my entire body began to tingle at the sound of a child's laughter hanging onto the silent night behind me. Slowly I turned back and looked around. This was supposed to be fully protected by anyone who didn't know it existed, which in theory meant that this had to be friendly company.

As I stood up and slowly followed the sound of the laughter Devimon's voice rang in my mind. _"They are busy dealing with the haunting of their past."_ At the time I hadn't known what he'd meant, _"today is the day that the barriers between life and death grow thin."_ But now I had a clear understanding of what he had meant when he'd said _"The evil digimon of the past are back for revenge."_

I was walking faster now, my heart beating quicker, hoping beyond all hope that my next assumption had to be correct. My feet were slamming against the path as I hurried toward the sound, but every time I closed in on the laughter it moved to a new location, and I was forced to spin around again and again until finally I spun around to see a glorious sight at the end of the path sitting on top of the boulder.

"Boo!" Lalamon giggled.

I tried to speak but I couldn't, all I could do was run toward her as she rolled off of the top of the boulder and leapt through the air into my arms. I couldn't even ever explain how good it felt to have her in my arms. A billion times better than when I had tampered with time. This was really her—_my_ Lalamon, not some other Mari's Lalamon. This one belonged to me. My best friend. My soul mate. Lalamon clung to me for dear life and I couldn't help but cry, every one of my tears falling down and landing on her flowery head. I'd cried so much that day, but at least these were tears of happiness this time.

"Mari," Lalamon said, jumping back. "You came! Finally! I've been waiting for years!"

"W-what?" I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Every year on this day the spirit world grows thin, and I kept coming here because I didn't know where to find you," Lalamon explained, "But you never came—I forgive you though because you're here today!" I couldn't stop myself from hugging her again, and holding her tighter than I ever had before. "You can see me every year—as long as you want to."

"Oh I want." I told her, hugging her as tight as possible. "I definitely want to."

* * *

"Okay, if there was an award for storytelling," Hiro said, "It would go to you."

"That's just rude." Takeru said, hurt, "That's literally my job and you're literally my son."

"Then write that story." Hiro said, wiping his eyes, and then looking to his Tokomon who was sobbing.

"It's so sad and happy and sad and happy again!" Tokomon cried.

"You're very good at telling stories," Renjiro agreed, "It was well done."

"I was really just retelling what actually happened though." I told them softly, looking down to the ground and smiling, "I didn't mean for it to scare any of you, or make you sad. I just told you the truth."

"And it was beautiful." Elliot nodded, holding his Chapmon tightly in his clenched hands as he leaned forward, listening intently. Nikko elbowed Osamu and the two laughed about Elliot's reaction.

"Laugh all you want." Elliot said, straightening up, "But at least I'm not pregnant."

"Low blow little boy," Emiko snorted, "Don't think I won't prank the crap out of you just because you're not my brother." She laughed, "Tell them what I did to you last night Renjiro—tell em!"

"I'd rather not..." He said quietly.

"I tied him in a tree. He was hanging there for hours until his little Bukamon found him and saved him." She laughed.

"You're evil," Azura said, amazed, or appalled, I couldn't tell.

"It's true though." Renjiro nodded, "I've still got a bump on my head from where I fell." He was rubbing his head nervously and Jou and Momoe were both narrowing their eyes in on their daughter.

"You can't be mad at me forever." Emiko grinned. "I'm creating life. It's normal, it's happy and it's wonderful."

"I strongly disagree." Jou said firmly.

"You think my baby is ugly!" Emiko growled before turning to the rest of us, "He's a baby hater. Maybe we should team up against him?"

"There'll be none of that." Momoe said firmly. "Let's all just relax and play and be friends and listen to stories."

"Then sing hippie peace songs around a campfire?" Emiko asked, "Sounds great, but I'm not into that stuff." She relaxed against Azura's side and closed her eyes. His face turned bright red as he flung his arm around her to keep her from falling.

But as I looked Emiko up and down, the peaceful look in her eyes I knew one thing for certain. That girl was up to something.

**Next on Happily Ever After: **Takeru takes up the last chapter of the day ladies and gentlemen, and is a hard one that's what I heaaaard. Your daddy was a lovin' man—family through and through—sorry Princess and the Frog. Good songs.


	5. Feeding the Flames

**Y/N:** I've not read this one yet, so yeah... I know it's good. It has to be. It's a classic Takeru chapter. They're always fun. And yeah. You should review and let me know what you think. If this chapter goes up before I leave for work tomorrow (but I'm writing this when it's still July 31, so I guess by the time you read it it will be today...) then you'll have read it before me. And I'd love to know what you think. :D

**U/N: **I'm so amused by my sister's author's note though because it's the least Takeruey chapter there is. I just re-read everything so you'd think I could get his voice in here, but I didn't, and I couldn't, and it's way more bitter than sweet, or funny, but at the same time I like the feel of it more because it more represents the way *I* would personally feel in his situation. But it is true, this is a Takeru chapter—and it's also my second last chapter to ever write for these digimon stories. Just one to go for meee! D:

I hope you like it and review though :)

Also, I was given the task of uploading these five, so that's what's wrong with the titles and the "Next Time" if that's what you were wondering-but my sister will take care of the last five, so that's gonna be better I bet :P Enjoy though.

**Title: Happily Ever After**

**By: Urazamayking**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters**

**Chapter 5: Feeding the Flames**

_**Takeru Takaishi: 4:00 pm**_

"I'm a little hungry." Tokomon said from Hiro's arms. Patamon was quick to serve Tokomon, flying quickly through the air and picking up a basket of seeds and nuts, flying it back over and plopping it right in front of Hiro so his Tokomon could eat immediately. Patamon was really good with the younger digimon, he wanted to take part in their growing up so much that he actually took lessons from Elecmon when Haruki first got his partner.

Patamon was back on my head a moment later, relaxing, but I could tell his eyes were scanning the crowd to ensure no other digimon was in need of his assistance.

"If it's possible," Renjiro asked, "Would we be allowed to stretch our legs a little before the story continues?"

"I am quite stiff as well," Kana added, stretching her legs out in front of herself.

"We could play a game of soccer!" Nikko roared, throwing both fists into the air. Osamu, Elliot and Aika were quick to their feet, and even Tenshi and Hiro decided to play along as well. "Dibs on being captain."

"Or we could play something everyone would enjoy," Renjiro offered, "Not to be rude, but I have always found soccer to be a little too much exercise for me."

"Fine." Nikko decided, stepping toward Renjiro, "Tag, then." He settled, poking Renjiro in the fore head. "You're it."

Everyone from Chika and up was running like a crazy person suddenly, trying to escape Renjiro who was suddenly 'it' in the game. Chika was the youngest playing, and although it looked as if she'd be the easiest to get no one bothered trying, she just ran around thinking she was part of the game, laughing along with the rest. She was too young and slow to be fair to catch anyway.

Shouta settled on playing with the younger children, Izumi, Madlyn and Iris. They started by playing a strange version of rock paper scissors, but it evolved quickly into a game of Shouta pretending to be a big monster, and Tsunomon protecting the three small princesses.

Eventually Tsunomon turned to the ladies after "slaying" his partner, and he bowed, "Princess Madlyn, Princess Iris. " He said politely before turning to Izumi, "Queen Izumi,"

* * *

"What the heck is going on with Hikari?" Yamato asked, pointing to a town we happened upon on our walk together. Hikari was surrounded by small buildings as well as a series of ancient digimon. Veemon's, Hawkmon's, Armadillomon's and Wormmon's—all of them bowing to her repetitively. Her face was contorted to that of 'I'm pretending to be happy, but I'm actually very annoyed.'

"We should go find out," I offered, practically laughing as we neared her. Her face was even funnier up close.

"Oh!" She said sharply, "Hey guys!" She said, apologizing as she pushed through a group of Hawkmon's to get closer to us. All the while, each and every single one of the digimon was chanting in unison, "Queen Hikari, Queen Hikari, Queen Hikari..." It just kept going on and on, and I didn't really blame Hikari for being annoyed to be honest.

"What's going on?" Yamato asked, stifling a laugh.

"These are my new subjects," Hikari said sarcastically, "Or didn't you hear, I'm a Queen."

"I did hear." I told her, "About eighteen years ago when we met."

"Oh we're so old." Hikari muttered under her breath, but Yamato ignored her.

"Did anyone ever figure out why exactly you're called Queen Hikari?" He asked as all of the digimon turned toward us all.

"Because she is our Queen." A Wormmon piped up.

"Of course she is." I told her. "She's a reincarnated princess destined to be saved by her dutiful knight." She kissed me, smiling all the while.

"Yuck." Yamato said behind me.

"What is your name?" The Wormmon asked after our kiss.

"Me?" I asked nervously, "T-Takeru."

"King Takeru," The Wormmon bowed down, and soon the rest of the digimon were chanting it as well.

"Well that's refreshing," Hikari laughed.

"But we're not married." I insisted, but they weren't listening, "WE ARE NOT MARRIED!" I shouted. "I'm not a King!"

"Not yet." Hikari corrected, "Not married yet."

"Two weeks," I told her excitedly, kissing her again. "You all ready?"

"Yeah, I was just telling Takeru that if you need something blue for the wedding our mother has this really nice hair clip that you could use." Yamato said.

"You're so funny." Hikari said giggling, "I'm not going to forget something blue," She laughed loudly, "What kind of girl do you think I am?" She then turned to me. "The blue is in the endless emotion and intellect in Takeru's eyes. I don't need anything blue."

"You. Are. So. Cute." I said to her kissing her after each word. "But you're going to actually bring something blue right?"

"Of course!" Hikari said boldly, "We can't have anything go wrong on our special day."

"Not anything." I agreed. "The Natsori wedding was secretive and weird, and Mimi had Lillymon dark digivolve at the Koumi wedding, which was just terrifying. I had nightmares for weeks."

"Miyaken and Joumoe's weddings go without explanation." Hikari said nodding her agreement.

"Taichi's wasn't that bad." Yamato said simply, "Just that... okay yeah it wasn't so great " He explained. "Meiyomon started a fire at Dad's wedding... and then Kurayami ran away at Daisuke's..."

"Are you implying that our wedding won't run smoothly?" I asked Yamato accusingly.

"Nah," Yamato said rolling his eyes, "Everything goes perfectly for you two, it's gross."

* * *

I found comfort in the fact that this was true...

My eyes stopped searching around when they landed on the smaller kids again. "What's Queen?" Izumi asked, "Why am I Queen?"

* * *

"You are known as Queen, dear Hikari," D'arcmon explained only a mere hours after being stalked by the ancient digimon. Yamato had long since gone insane, but he stuck around hoping against all odds that it would become less annoying soon, but it didn't look as if it would lessen. "Do you know why that is?"

"I certainly wish I did," Hikari sang, trying to be as polite as possible. I found it very fascinating to watch Hikari interact with D'arcmon who was Salamon's true evolution—providing she were raised by love of course, which she wasn't—but if Hikari had joined us at camp in the first place and Gennai hadn't dropped her egg, Hikari's digimon would be D'arcmon, so it was interesting.

"The one they call Gennai created a version of a Queen to rule the world, and her name was Hikari." D'arcmon summed up quickly. "She looked like you."

"That actually makes sense!" Hikari said slapping her forehead. "Gennai created the digital world, and since I was there when he did so, if he happened to want a Queen it would make perfect sense to base it off of me—or Mimi, but still. I get it."

"So do they not realize that you're not really the Queen?" I asked her.

"Well," Hikari said, suddenly swelling up, "Technically, the Queen was based off of me... so... in all actuality—I am."

"No," Yamato and I laughed, "You're not." I told her, "We can pretend you are though."

"Jerk," Hikari said, punching my arm lightly, "I don't understand why Gennai didn't make his mo—" Hikari froze and turned back to D'arcmon. "Are you Gennai's mother?" She asked quietly. D'arcmon looked hurt, but nodded.

"I am." She said simply. Yamato and I exchanged shocked looks, but left the actual speaking to Hikari who was doing a swell job.

"Does anyone know?" Hikari asked. D'arcmon only shook her head, and Hikari immediately stepped forward and hugged her. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"I lost my son many years ago. Before anyone known as Gennai came around." D'arcmon said stone faced. "My son and I were separated permanently a long time ago."

"Hiraga." Hikari said sadly, "I'm still so sorry." Again she hugged D'arcmon.

* * *

Why did Hikari get all the interesting plotlines?

No, sorry, wait. The interesting life events?

Life isn't a book Takeru. It's real life, there are no plotlines or characters, there are only real people and real events. I had to remember that.

I looked toward Hikari who was sitting close to Willis, and I smiled at her, of course she couldn't see, as I was behind her. She and Willis had decided to be close friends for Lopmon's sake at first, but they sort of rekindled their relationship not long after our wedding, and after that they'd been close friends for life. But I never felt jealous. Hikari would never cheat on someone, I knew that.

Except for that one time she sort of kind of cheated on Willis with Hideto—but that hardly counted.

"You stay back!" Tsunomon roared toward Shouta as Izumi's digimon DemiMeramon popped up and tackled Tsunomon.

"I am Shouta's mega special protector of darkness!" DemiMeramon bellowed.

"And we are his sidekicks of ultimate doom!" Either Iris or Madlyn's partner Budmon roared, I could never remember which one had which digimon.

The three girls screamed and started running—more like stumbling and waddling—away from the digimon.

I really missed my kids being that age though. Back when they idolized me instead of considered me just their father—which was great and all, I just sometimes liked how much they thought of me—not that they didn't like me now though.

They were just too old—or too used to me I supposed, since Hikari's class had a few kids who idolized me still.

* * *

"Oh I'm gonna barf," Takato Matsuki squeaked.

"He's really here!" Hirokazu shouted, "It's him!"

"Move!" Kenta shrieked high pitched, "I want his autograph!" Behind them, excited too, but much more calm about it sat Hikari's favourite student Juri, she waved to me politely.

"Children," I'd said to them, I promise you can have my autograph—_if_ you recount your D-Reaper adventures. The D-Reaper is the ninth evil, and I'd like your recounting of the events for the final book in the series."

"Did you just spoil part of the last book that hasn't come out yet?" Hirokazu asked, "Why would you do that? You totally ruined it!"

"But we could leak the information online and make a profit!" Kenta suggested.

"Now you're thinking!" Hirokazu cheered.

"No, stop, just sit and recount the story." I begged.

"I'll do it," Takato and Juri said together, they looked to each other and decided to take turns, "It's like this, see..."

* * *

It was mostly a relief to know that someone cared, because even though the books had become best sellers, that really didn't mean anyone cared about _me_ at all, but I was glad that they did, and I was also glad my books had done so well.

Even if I sometimes felt like a loser writing them out. I just lived so vicariously through the characters, and as such, was reliving my past, that sometimes when I finished writing for the night it was a heart wrenching experience, realizing that I no longer had an action packed adventure filled life. True, I had the most beautiful wife, and two kids who were usually not that annoying, and there were four spirited digimon in the house, and I really did love my life.

It was just not nearly as thrilling and exhilarating as it used to be.

For a couple years after the defeat of Yggdrasil I'd sneak into the Temple in the early morning and pull out the digimental of hope and fly around on Pegasusmon just to pretend it had a point. And I could do that all day until Hikari or someone came home from school or work, because I was the only one without either of those things to occupy my time. And I didn't have kids at the time, so that gave me loads of extra free time.

I had eventually started jumping off of Pegasusmon and letting him fly down to rescue me, and then Taichi had found out and had a talk with me about my own personal safety, and that I had turned into an adrenaline junky, which was fine by me, I didn't mind, it just made my character more interesting.

Except I wasn't a character—I was a human being.

But I didn't like to think negatively, because no matter how often I did think negatively I was still perfectly optimistic and happy. I loved everything around me. The peace in the digital world was almost breathtaking even to this very day. The way Hikari looked into my eyes was like a spark of inspiration, and the way she kissed me always reminded me of the very first time. The way Tenshi would wake me up in the morning to have breakfast with him, and the way I'd have to wake Hiro up because he'd be late for school—the way Patamon did everything he could to be of service at every moment of every day. The way Gatomon and Salamon would go on cute little adventures and bring back a collection of rocks or leaves and Tenshi and Hikari would have to sort through them and learn about different science things that I'd be no good at. The way little Shouta and Aika would look up to my own kids the way I'd looked up to Yamato so long ago, and the way Yamato and I were finally equals—both safe, both adults and both in love with life. The way these things strung together was exactly how and why I was happy.

And even though I knew our adventures were over, that didn't mean the adventure was over for our children, and I'd be thrilled to one day sit down with Tenshi and talk about some girl he had a crush on—or boy—no judgement. And the inevitable day when Hiro finally gets his Tokomon to champion, and we can talk about the differences between our digimon's paths, and how we got them that way.

Besides, he's going to need a champion digimon one day. Sure the prophecy stated specifically that peace would begin once every crest found it's home—but we knew for sure that was wrong. Ryou received his crest from Ken _before_ the final evil had rampaged across earth. And besides, even if that minor complication didn't count, peace could not exist without chaos and vice versa. Hikari taught me that.

The adventure wasn't over—not yet, or ever for that matter.

I turned to see Tenshi rushing toward me, his adorable smile plastered on his face while the whistle around his neck bounced with every stride. "Dad!" He shouted, jumping through the air and grabbing my arm. "Come play?" He asked, "It's boring without someone to go up against Haruki."

"Then you'd best ask Uncle Taichi," I told him, "Haruki's faster than I am."

"That's not true dad." Tenshi said, "But okay—when's supper?"

"In a few hours I guess," I offered. "Whenever everyone is hungry."

"I'm hungry, does that count?" He asked, but I shook my head.

"You can eat now if you want, but don't spoil your dinner." I told him and he grinned rushing over to the snack table. Hiro caught sight of him and was by his side a second later piling food onto his plate.

"Dad says to not spoil your dinner Hiro," Tenshi said politely.

"I won't," Hiro smiled up to his elder brother. Tenshi left the snack table with a fork, a napkin and a brownie on a plate. Hiro followed behind with two heaping plates of chips, cookies, cupcakes, and a piece of broccoli. I couldn't help but smile. He was much more like me than like Hikari—except that strange little habit of him sneaking vegetables onto his plate.

"Hey," Hikari said standing next to me, holding my hand instantly. "What's up?"

"Patamon," I replied in the usual way.

"I'm scoping." Patamon confirmed, "I want to make sure no one gets hurt."

"What's the status report so far?" Hikari joked.

"Nikko and Haruki are going head to head, but neither is overtaking the other, Chika has fallen twelve times and given up on the game. She found a butterfly, but she can't catch it. Kana and Renjiro are playing a cross over game, and are hiding up in a tree to avoid being caught by Louisa who is 'it' currently, and who can't catch her brother. Makoto and Osamu are keeping a steady pattern of keeping behind the person who is 'it' so as not to be seen, and Aika is too much of a dare devil and keeps getting caught." Patamon filled in quickly. "And your kids are pigs."

"Are _we_ pigs?" Tokomon asked from my feet.

"No, never let anyone tell you otherwise." Patamon said.

"Roger that, sir!" Tokomon tried to salute before yawning and revealing his nearly terrifying amount of teeth.

"Haruki Motomiya you are such a jerk!" Everyone's heads suddenly turned back to see Louisa on the ground, pulling herself up using the tree as a balance board. "I'm going to get you for that!"

"Oooh I'm so scared," Haruki mocked her from up in the tree Kana and Renjiro were sitting in, but higher up. "A girl couldn't possibly get all the way up here."

"Watch me." Louisa snarled, jumping up and grabbing the lowest branch. She pulled herself up smoothly and then Haruki was screaming, clambering higher into the trees.

"Maybe we should ensure their safety by allowing our digimon to digivolve to protect them." Koushiro suggested.

"Oh please," Mimi waved him off, "They're older than we were when we first went to the Digital World, they'll be fine. We did all sorts of crazy stupid things."

"I suppose you're right." Koushiro said, but didn't look convinced.

"When did we grow up?" Hikari asked suddenly, and quietly so only Patamon, Tokomon and I would hear. And of course some of the other digimon as their hearing was much better than the humans. "I mean, it feels like just yesterday that I was getting over my sickness, and I'd just met you. Just met Gatomon—but that was twenty eight years ago—we are adults now and Tenshi and Hiro are around the age we were all those years ago." She looked up to me. "We grew up."

"Well," I said, kissing her forehead. "I'm glad I grew up alongside you."

"You two are actually adorable." Sora said, listening into our conversation.

"Disgusting, more like." Yamato scoffed. I turned to see the two of them standing with Shouta in between them, propped up on Sora's hip. Madlyn and Iris had run off to play with Chika and Izumi was crying in Hideto's arms as Kiyoko tried to wrangle DemiMeramon without getting burned.

"Did Izumi get hurt?" I asked Shouta, bending over a little to be eye level with him.

"Yeah," He nodded, looking to her, hurt, wanting to comfort her. "She's okay though."

"Is she?" I asked. "I'm glad, sometimes people get hurt while we play games with our digimon—actually, one time—"

We all spun quickly upon hearing a _thud._

"I'm really sorry," Louisa was saying awkwardly, while she was climbing down the tree toward Haruki who was laying on the ground now, groaning. "And I didn't mean to do it." She said, leaping down and standing next to him, "But you totally deserved it."

"Louisa!" Michael scolded unconvincingly. "Apologize."

"I just did." She said helping Haruki to his feet. He reached for her hand and she pulled him up. "Guess what though?" She asked everyone as a group, "Haruki is it."

He looked shocked down to their intertwined hands and pulled his hand back quickly. "No way!" He shouted. "Clever girl."

"Is she clever?" Kana asked, helping Renjiro out of the tree, "Or are you just a fool who fell from a tree?"

"Perhaps both?" Haruki suggested, grinning, but rubbing his head. "Guys I dunno if I should play anymore for now. I hurt. Like a lot."

"Alright," Hikari said, "Well I'm sure we could finish telling the stories between present day and the past. Is there anything worth telling really?"

"Well we heard about Haruki's birth," Renjiro said hurrying with the others to come sit down, "What about everyone else's birth?"

"They're all pretty similar stories." Emiko said with a snort.

"A scary story?" Aika tried as she and Nikko sat down with Elliot. Osamu and Makoto weren't far behind.

"Not while night is near," Hideto said, shaking his head, "I don't want to be up all night with a crying child.

"We won't get scared!" Everyone insisted.

"No, it's still not a good idea." Mimi agreed. "How about we let Haruki decide since he just broke his head open?"

"Good plan," Mai suggested, "That way there won't be any arguments, if we leave it up to one person."

"But Chika isn't here yet," Nikko said quickly, "I think she's still by the pond. I'll go get her." He jumped to his feet and was rushing off toward her quickly. I noticed Tenshi leading the way for Hiro and his handful of chips toward the group of kids who were sitting on the ground now. Hiro motioned for Tokomon to come share his snacks and the two of them were content—as if there was a time that they weren't.

"Nikko is sure taking a long time." Koromon said quietly.

"He'll be back though!" Motimon said, jumping toward Koromon excitedly, "He's just finding Chika!"

"Here they come now!" Tentomon buzzed, flying toward Koushiro.

"It's called a fuzzle." Chika was saying showing Nikko a stone that she clutched in her dirty hand.

"I think it's a fossile though." Nikko nodded as he looked to the stone with interest.

"Yeah they come alive when fat bugs sit on them." Chika said, "Like a heavy heavy bug."

"That's almost right," Nikko said slowly, "I think." He looked up and noticed everyone staring, so he grabbed Chika's arm and dragged her to sit down with him. With everyone sitting around us again and their attention directed toward Haruki, everyone was still, and silent. Which was a nice change.

"I guess we could just go on with the Sora and Yamato story?" Haruki suggested.

"Aw, man—why?" Elliot asked.

"It's nothing new," Makoto whined, "We've all heard a billion love stories, why do we need another one?"

"Because if we don't finish it off now then we'll have to listen to it later," Haruki said with a shrug, "It makes sense to me."

"Where were we though?" Osamu asked, turning to Mai who was already flipping through the pages in her book.

"Yamato had just told Sora that he hates her, and she threw up on Neo," Mai informed us all. "Who knows what happened after that.

"Takeru does," Sora offered, taking the attention off of herself quickly. It took a moment to realize she had mentioned my name though. "I went straight to him afterwards."

Everyone spun all the way around to face me, and judging by the weight shift on my head Patamon was now ready for the story as well. Hikari squeezed my hand and nudged me gently with her arm. It was comforting, but I didn't really need comfort, I enjoyed telling stories, it was my way of life.

"Alright, everyone." I told them, "It was a dark and stormy night—"

"Yeah! Scary!" Aika cheered.

"No need to play it up though," Makoto said, "I love dramatics as much as the next guy, but we all know you're just trying to make the story seem more interesting.

"No, really it was very stormy." I told them.

* * *

Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder cracked loudly nearby. The power was out and the only sound to be heard was the loud thumping of the large raindrops hitting the window outside. I loved the rain though, as long as I was inside. It always made me feel like I was cheating life somehow—being able to be dry even though the world wanted me wet. I don't know—something like that. I also loved when the power went out, it was much more dramatic and relaxing that way. Nothing to take away from the sound of the rain and the storm.

Patamon however _hated_ storms, and I didn't even know where he was, he was hiding from the sound, probably in the basement, or in the kitchen cupboards. Hikari was in the process of moving in to the apartment by this point, so all of her boxes of girl things were everywhere. Clothes weird hair things and whatnot, Kurayami and Daisuke had just moved out, and she'd always felt like the third wheel living with Iori and Natsuni—just as I had with the others, and so I offered to allow her to move in to my place, and she said yes. Which was very romantic of me.

* * *

"Also," Hikari said, "You couldn't pay the rent on your own."

"This is also true," I nodded.

* * *

Hikari was upstairs, having drawn a bath just before the hydro had gone out, she'd come back down and grabbed a few candles and excitedly ran upstairs to have a relaxing bath in the dark. And of course Gatomon was sleeping on top of the television, like always.

I took a few deep breaths and relaxed as much as I could in the sounds of the storm until I heard a tapping at the door. It startled me at first, but, well it was a door, so it must've been someone knocking, but when I checked, no one was there. I moved back into the living room and looked outside, but it was too dark to see anything, even if I did think I saw something move, so I leaned closer and then, with a flash of lightning I screamed loudly, Sora was standing right up to the window, tapping the glass. Gatomon woke with a start and rolled her eyes at me before jumping off to find somewhere else to take a cat nap.

I hurried to the door and let Sora in, where she stood, soaking wet for a while, taking her jacket off. She shook her hair a little but sighed, defeated, when she realized it was pointless trying to dry it off.

"What's up?" I asked her finally. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

"I needed to talk to someone and I didn't know who else to tell." Sora said as if it were rehearsed, "I thought about Koushiro, but knew he would give me advice I'd have to follow,"

* * *

"Well that's just not true," Koushiro said, "I'm terrible at giving advice!"

* * *

"And Mimi can't keep a secret for her life," Sora continued.

* * *

"Hey!" Mimi barked, "That's so true though!"

* * *

"And Taichi seemed wrong, so I came to you." Sora explained. I wanted to mention sarcastically how pleased I was to be her fourth choice, but I just let her say what she needed to say. "I lied to your brother and told him that I was dating this guy because he was getting on my nerves and I just really wanted him to eat his words, and then he told me he hated me because I lied to him but I can't tell him that I was lying because then he'll hate me even more because not only did I make him feel bad on my own accord, I'm also a liar but I want the issue to be fixed because I really do care about him—enough to not date anyone for four years straight, which is a pretty good accomplishment since I'd not been without a boyfriend for seven years straight before that—I'd literally moved onto the next boyfriend before I broke up with the one I was with—more than once even—and now I'm sitting here, wanting to be with the man I love, the man who loves me but I can't because I'm a _horrible _person!" She cried out, gasping for breath three times before she resigned to throwing her head back in agony. "Ugh, what do I do?"

"Have you tried talking to Yamato?" I offered.

"No, I'm hiding from him." Sora said matter-of-factly. "I just want to go back and not lie." She perked up suddenly.

"You can't steal a magical key, Sora." I scolded.

"Oh but you can take the digimental of hope and fly around on your Pegasus all the time?" She asked, "Hypocrite."

"You're being kind of mean." I said slowly, "But I realize it's just because you're defeated, so I won't hold it against you. But the only person that can make Yamato forgive you is, well, Yamato. So you should definitely talk to him."

"You're right." She said, "I probably won't for a while, but you're definitely right." She nodded, "I'm going to go step out into the rain and let karma take over because I don't like to listen to good advice given to me by my good friend."

* * *

"See, I didn't say that though," Sora said, "I said the rest of it though, which I'm not proud of. I was such a baby. Good thing I continued to be a baby for the next few years."

"Years?" Elliot groaned.

"You two really hate stable relationships don't you?" Makoto asked, "you sound like my teacher. She's had six husbands, and each one of them is now dead."

"I'm nothing like that!" Sora insisted loudly.

"That's an unusual statistic," Mai said, "Perhaps you could introduce me to your teacher so I could do an investigation? She seems like she could be a psychopath."

"You're telling me," Makoto nodded.

"Anyway," I said, clearing my throat.

* * *

Since I knew full well that Sora was never going to call Yamato to talk to him I figured I'd give it a go, and so I called him up immediately after she'd left.

"Hey Takeru," Yamato said, "What's up?"

"Sora was just here," I said quickly, getting to the point, "She said she lied about having a boyfriend to make you angry, but before you get mad you dated Katsue with the sole purpose of making Sora jealous and to have some company so that's way worse."

"Okay, no need to insult me—wait, she's not dating him?" Yamato asked.

"Nope." I told him firmly. "Now go apologize for telling her you hate her."

"Oh my God I said I hated her." Yamato said quietly, and then louder, "How could I have said that?" He shouted, "I'm such an idiot!"

"Sometimes," I agreed, "But she was here crying—"

* * *

"She cried?" Aika asked, eyeing up her mother.

"Yes, well I left that out, but I guess didn't do so successfully." I said sheepishly, "It was kind of depressing to be honest. She cried about how she didn't really love herself either and she didn't blame Yamato for not loving her."

"I thought she was supposed to learn self respect or something while off at school," Haruki said.

"Sounds to me like she was sick that day," Makoto joked.

"Oh come now," Sora said embarrassed.

* * *

"She cried?" Yamato asked through the phone, "I'm a jerk. I'm the worst—I made her cry just because she made me upset. How is that even kind of a functional relationship?"

"Well it's really not actually," I told him. "But you should still apologize."

"I don't... think I will." He said quietly, "I think I'm just going to put the Sora chapter to an end."

"What?" I asked loudly, "That's so spontaneous it doesn't even make sense!" He didn't say anything so I continued, "You can't just hurt her and leave her there to bleed—you have to at least fix the wounds!"

"I just keep hurting her though, and when I fix her up she hurts me. It's an endless cycle." Yamato said. "I'd like to come out on top."

"Then you're right, you really should put the Sora chapter to an end." I told him, "Because you obviously don't really love her then."

"Or do I just love myself enough to keep myself from getting hurt?" He asked through the phone.

"I think your rhetorical question is just pushing away what you already know inside." I told him.

"When did you get so smart?" He asked.

"Oh, I just wrote a Koushiro chapter for my book. I'm all up in his head right now." I laughed, "Anyway, I'm leaving now, just think about it."

"I will... bye Takeru."

"Bye."

* * *

"The end." I told them with a smile.

"See, I like you," Elliot said, "Even though that wasn't a good story, at least you got to the point fast enough to make the story end quickly. Well done." Elliot then applauded, "But your story still sucked."

"I liked it, Dad," Hiro said.

"Me too," Patamon agreed.

"I didn't." Yamato and Sora said together.

"But at least we're getting to the roots of the problems," Mai muttered, "I may be close to a breakthrough."

As Mai was scribbling in her book Emiko was muttering with her father behind the picnic table Sora, Yamato and Shouta were sitting on top of. Finally Emiko steppd on top of it, standing next to Yamato and said loudly, "How many of you think my father is being a hypocrite?" I wasn't sure where she was going with it, so I was a little concerned how I should answer. No one said anything at first, so she continued though, "My mother was nineteen years old when she had me, and I'm eighteen which is pretty much the same thing. I think they're both being really rude and obnoxious about it, and although I don't expect you to agree with me about that, I just ask that some of you stand by me in my time of need. I'm really going to need support if my own family won't support me for making the same mistakes that they themselves did."

"I'll always support you though," Renjiro said boldly, and Emiko smiled at him.

"Thank you," She said sincerely, "But seriously, I need support."

"Well I support you," Louisa said, "For sure."

"I think you're mean," Kana said, "But very brave, and I support you."

"Ditto." Azura said, "About the second part, not the first." Emiko grinned at him.

"Actually, just throwing it out there with risk of being scrutinized," Michael said, "I will also support you. Anything you need help with, I'll help."

"I think you're too young, and I think you're too immature." Taichi said honestly.

"And we agree with Taichi," Yamato said, his arm around Sora. She however, was not having any of that.

"We?" She asked, moving his arm off of her shoulder, "I can make up my own mind thank you, and I actually am quite fond of children, and Emiko may not be one hundred percent ready for one, but in case you don't remember, neither were we when Aika was born." Sora jumped to her feet and stood next to Emiko, grabbing her hand and throwing it into the air.

"Are you starting a rebellion?" Jou asked incredulously.

"Yes." Sora said firmly. "Everyone on Emiko's side stand here by me. And everyone against, stand with Jou." Whether on purpose, or not, Emiko was splitting the group, and she was using our most pivotal member to do so.

Mimi stood with Jou, but Koushiro chose to stand by Emiko. Similarly, Daisuke and Kurayami split, but it was Kurayami who joined Emiko this time. And of course, Louisa, Kana, Renjiro and Michael joined Emiko as Taichi and Yamato joined Jou.

"Do you love babies?" Sora asked her children.

"Yes!" Shouta shouted jumping up and down, hugging his mothers leg.

"Not really, no." Aika said, nervously moving to stand with her father.

Miyako stood by Emiko claiming that at least one of her parents had to be on her side and even if she was only a godmother, having Jou, Momoe and Mimi all against her had to hurt her on a deep emotional level. Azura was quick to join Emiko next though.

As Haruki led his group of younger boys—Nikko, Makoto, Osamu and Elliot—over to Jou's side Louisa shouted "Traitor!" Haruki just looked back and stuck his tongue out.

Eventually, with Hikari and I joining Emiko's side with an apologetic look to Jou, the only remaining person to choose was Mai. She merely shrugged and said she refused to take sides because she was an unbiased journalist.

So in the end Emiko's team consisted of Sora, Koushiro, Miyako, Iori, Michael, Willis, Mari, Kurayami, Natsuni, Azura, Louisa, Renjiro, Kana, Madlyn, Iris, Shouta, Tenshi, Hiro, Hikari and myself.

While Jou's team was everyone else: Taichi, Yamato, Mimi, Daisuke, Ken, Hideto, Kiyoko, Neo, Rei, Haruki, Osamu, Nikko, Makoto, Elliot, Aika, Chika, Izumi and Momoe.

Jou looked hurt to see so many of us standing against him, but the look on Emiko's face was purely filled with maniacal joy, and I was suddenly worried I'd picked the wrong team.

"So, I see you've gathered an army." Emiko said as everyone's digimon slowly moved themselves in line with their partners, following them blindly, not really understanding human reproduction anyway.

"I see you have as well." Jou said, straightening his glasses.

"I guess this means war." Emiko declared.

**Next on Happily Ever After: **On Wednesday you'll get the final five chapters for this story forever and for good. It's exciting, no? I mean that it'll be over, not that you'll get the chapters. Next up is Taichi, then someone else, someone else, someone else and then Daisuke. I don't really remember who the other three are right now. But y'all come back now y'hear?


	6. Food For Thought

**Y/N: **Yeah. I know how late this is, but it's a Wednesday, just like we promised. That doesn't make up for the lateness, I know. But here it is, the first of the last five chapters, which will all debut today. We worked hard on them, and I hope you enjoy them.

**U/N: **So, this chapter is, let's count, shall we? 84 days late. 84. Whoops. I'mma say sorry even if it isn't my fault at all. This one's on my sister, and her excuses were valid for only so long until it became just that. Excuses. I don't want you all to think I'm hating on her or whatever, just that this isn't my fault. Here they are though. Less of a wait than the last ones were. Which that last wait WAS possibly partially my fault. But this is what we have. This is the end finally. Last five chapters. I'm sorry for the wait, and here you go. Enjoy :)

**Title: Happily Ever After**

**By: Yukiraking**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters**

**Chapter 6: Food For Thought**

_**Taichi Yagami: 4:30 pm**_

"Wait, what?" Azura said aghast. "I can't fight your family!"

"No one ever supports me," Emiko whined. "No more. I will destroy this injustice!"

"It's not a videogame, Emiko," Azura said. "This is real life! You all have digimon partners, if you actually start fighting each other, someone could really get hurt."

"Then we won't fight with our digimon, we'll just fight _with_ them," she said with a slight grin.

"I don't know what the difference is..." Azura said nervously.

"Attack!" she shouted, rushing over to the dessert table and grabbing a cupcake. "Food Fight!" She rushed at us and threw the cupcake directly into Momoe's face, smearing chocolate icing all over her mother's glasses. She picked up a handful of cake out of the centre of the celebratory anniversary cake (Rei spent _hours_ decorating it to make it perfect) and chucked it into her cousin Osamu's face, it splattered spectacularly, coating not only his face but his soft, purple hair as well. He rushed to scrape it out of his eyes and threw what he collected back towards our opposition, managing to get it on his little brother, Taro, and Miyako's arms. She started to scold him, but was unable to continue because she had a mouthful of brownie. Daisuke was high-fiving Ken and laughing until Kurayami threw her sauerkraut at his face. He started screaming about his eyes, and tripped over little Izumi, who then started screaming as well. We were losing! This would not do.

"Hideto, you're on Willis, Kiyoko, cover Mari!" I called. "Neo, can you handle Kurayami and Michael on your own?"

"She's pregnant, and he's got no aim," Neo said bluntly. "I think I can manage."

"Good," I said with a grin. "Yamato, take Takeru, Daisuke, you've got Miyako. Move it people. The kids can handle the other kids. We can do this. We can win this battle!"

"That's more like it," Elliot complimented, before tackling his sister to the ground and dumping the entire punch bowl on her head. She screamed at him before rolling him over so he was on the ground, thoroughly soaking him with the same sweet, sticky, red beverage.

"Point me somewhere," Daisuke said, angry about the sauerkraut. "Just do it."

"You did so well with Miyako," I suggested.

"On it," he said. "This'll be good."

"I told you my dad was the coolest!" Nikko exclaimed, dodging the pieces of broccoli that his cousin Hiro was tossing his way. He started catching them and throwing them back, but Patamon was there to save the day for Hiro, catching the broccoli in his mouth and swallowing it before it could do any damage. Tenshi snuck up behind him and started pelting him with carrot sticks from a different angle. Nikko couldn't keep up with the amount of broccoli and carrots, and was starting to lose, but Koromon jumped in and ate the carrot sticks like Patamon did the broccoli—even though Koromon hated them. He was taking one for the team. Tenshi was on his own though, as Salamon wasn't available to assist his partner. He was busy with Tsunomon who was trying to take down both Aika _and_ Yokomon so that Shouta didn't have to get involved—he was sort of hiding behind his mother's legs. Sora was doing her part to protect him, _and _get Jou out of the running. She was throwing brownies and chunks of cake that she picked up off the ground at him. He was ducking out of the way as fast as he could. Somehow, I don't think this is what he had in mind when he got an army. He was probably thinking of something more along the lines of a calm debate. Oops.

"Can't we just _talk_ about this?" Mimi shrieked, hiding behind her two children as Koushiro catapulted spoonfuls of whipped cream at her. Unfortunately for her, Koushiro could calculate his destination in about a second and missed his children every time, catching only _her_.

"You should've thought of that before picking sides," Koushiro said.

"You only picked Emiko's side because of Sora!" she whined. "Your whole family picked Jou. Why didn't you?"

"Because you were wrong," Koushiro said bluntly. "You hated how _your_ mother tried to control you and everything you did; you hated how _Isao_ did the same to Jou. And you hated how Momoe's parents hated her for the exact same reason that's happening now. I don't want to be like those parents. I'm going to support her because it's right to do so. She deserves this of _you_ as well."

"Well I don't like the idea that my little goddaughter is going around getting pregnant without thinking about her future!" Mimi shouted. She grabbed a cupcake out of Makoto's hands and ran at Koushiro, smearing it into his face.

"Whoa," Makoto said. "Go Mom."

"Fighting's bad," Chika told him.

"Whatever, squirt," he said, taking the cupcake she'd been eating and aiming at Tentomon who was flying around with Motimon and Tanemon clinging to his legs in their attempt to bring him down to the ground—they weren't being very successful.

"I'm going to get you!" Kurayami screamed, ripping the bowl of pudding out of Michael's hands and flinging it—glass bowl and all—at Neo's face. His eyes widened and he went to move away, but the bowl smashed into him and down he went. Wow that would bruise.

"Neo!" Dracomon shouted dramatically, running over to his fallen partner. "Wake up! You can't be dead!" Everyone froze at those words, and Gomamon rushed over to check Neo. Once he declared him simply unconscious, the battle started raging again. This time, no one went near Kurayami—which was actually probably a really good thing, what with her being pregnant and all.

Labramon, Betamon and Gatomon were trying to keep away from Pal and Pul's dive bombing cookies—they hurt more than I'd like to admit—while Goblimon shielded Natsuni from all of Rei's attacks. Momoe had ransacked the kitchen of leftover lunch and was lobbing rice balls at any digimon that got too close to the food table. She—as did I—realized that the digimon had _way_ better aim that any of us did. Probably due to all of those battles they partook in while we stood and watched, lending moral support and poorly put together battle strategy. She'd taken out Agumon, Monodromon and Biyomon. She was in the process of bombarding Armadillomon with rice when Hawkmon dive-bombed her with her own weapon that he'd collected off the ground. Bearmon busied himself with protecting his partner, so that she could continue her mission.

Mari, having decided to follow Momoe's lead, had gotten out the leftover potato salad and was throwing fistfuls at Hideto—who succeeded at taking Willis out of the fight by legitimately _tying _him to a tree—and Kiyoko, who were too busy trying to calm down their wailing daughter to have seen her coming.

"Oh come on!" Hideto snapped exasperatedly. "Can you not _wait_ a _minute_?"

"We're at war, Hideto," Mari said with a smirk. "Don't be a sore loser."

"Shh, shh," Kiyoko murmured into Izumi's ear as he held her close to him, his back to Mari so he'd block all of the potato salad from hitting her. "They're just playing. Daisuke's sorry he hurt you. It was an accident."

"You're attacking a two year old, Mari? _Really_?" Hideto said, scraping the potato salad off of Kiyoko's back, making a face at the feeling of it, and throwing it back at her. "Two can play this game!"

Her eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

"Just watch me," he said. "Agumon, Gabumon, get the twins!"

"On it," the two digimon said as one. They rushed over to the dessert table and found a bowl of peanut butter, marshmallow squares and—deciding they were soft enough to pelt at two-year olds—took aim at Madlyn and Iris. They squealed and kept trying to hide behind each other. But Terriermon and Lopmon were quick to rescue them. Willis' two digimon were facing off against Hideto's. It was going to be epic, but a quick feeling of slimy, cold, grossness distracted me from the promising fight.

"What the hell?" I muttered, reaching up to see what it was. But I was hit again before I could tell. This time from the side of my head. Long, slimy noodles—which I realized not long after was what they were—were draping across my face, lodged in my hair, sliding down my neck, the sauce they'd been in was stinging my eyes.

"Bulls eye!" Hikari shouted in triumph.

"Do it again, do it again!" Tokomon urged her.

"Don't!" I shouted—too late. I got a mouthful of it this time. The noodles? Not good cold. Blegh.

"Right in the kisser!" Budmon cheered.

"Again, again!" Gummymon pleaded.

"Well..." Hikari said, pretending to ponder it. "Okay."

I tried to duck this time, but I couldn't see. I got hit again. I waited for another noodle blast, but it never came.

"Hikari?" Tokomon asked.

"Uh oh," she said slowly. I could hear her backing up. I wiped the noodles out of my eyes and strained them through the pain of the sauce to see my sister. The bowl was empty. She was unarmed. I felt a smirk spread across my face. This would be fun.

"Takeru!" Hikari shouted. "I need ammo!"

"Go get some," he said. "I'm a little busy."

He was facing off against both Yamato and Gabumon. Each had a baguette in their hand and were swinging them about like swords. Takeru was doing fairly well to hold them both off, but was continually jabbed in the gut by Gabumon whenever he blocked one of Yamato's higher swings. If I hadn't been covered in really gross leftovers, I might've even found it funny to watch. But as I was—and it was a constant reminder that Hikari was going to have to pay the moment she came back, since she left while I was distracted with her husband.

"You can't get me!" Mai screamed. "Leave me alone!"

Poromon was doing his best to block her from the bombardment of fudge headed at her, but he was too small. Wormmon was leading the attack, with both Minnomon and Leafmon following behind him. He clearly didn't understand the point of this battle, since he and Minnomon were both supposed to be opposing Leafmon, but I guess he felt bad for his little prodigy, and decided to lead an attack of his own.

"That hurts!" Ken shouted. "It's not even food. Monmon!"

Monmon had enough of the soft foods, and had dragged the water cooler behind a tree, which he was using as a shield while he chucked full water bottles at Ken. He was pretty much curled into a fetal position, waiting for the onslaught to end.

I snuck over to the veggie tray, and snatched it up. It looked like Ken needed some backup. There were only tomatoes and mushrooms left. It wouldn't be as cool as smearing cupcakes, but it would have to do.

"Hey, Monmon, eat this!" I called throwing a handful of tomatoes at him. He turned to me and quirked his head before picking up a handful of ice from the cooler and daring me to hit him again. I dared. I threw all of the mushrooms at him, only to get a face full of ice. Getting a bit frustrated, I just threw the tray to distract him, before grabbing one handle of the cooler, preparing to drag it away. But he wasn't as easily distracted as I'd hoped, and grabbed the other side. I am man enough to admit that I was playing tug-of-war with a monkey. But to be fair, I wanted that cooler. And he wasn't going to let me have it.

And no. That wasn't childish.

Not at all.

"Come get me," DemiMeramon giggled happily. DemiVeemon ran at him jumping to catch him, but DemiMeramon dodged him, laughing all the way. "You missed!"

"Aren't you guys on the same team?" Bukamon asked.

"Yeah," DemiVeemon agreed with a grin. "But we don't like that game. So we're playing tag instead."

"That _does_ sound more fun..." Bukamon sighed. "Can I play?"

"Sure," DemiVeemon said. He tapped him on the shoulder. "Now you can be it!" He laughed and ran off after DemiMeramon. Upamon was quick to join them. I suppose not having any arms, he wasn't having much fun. All he could really do in a food fight was get hit by the flying food.

Monmon grunted and jerked the cooler his way. "No way," I growled. "It's mine now."

"Is that all you guys got?" Haruki accused haughtily. "You're team's totally gonna lose."

"No way," Renjiro said. "You've got tough fighters, but we've got sheer determination and good will on our side."

"Yeah," Kana bragged. "We're the _good_ guys in this situation. And if I've learned _anything_ from all these stories it's that good always triumphs."

"Well _I've_ learned that everyone always thinks they're doing the right thing, _especially_ the bad guys," Haruki snapped. "And that's what you are."

Monmon tugged again. I pulled harder.

"How do you figure that?" Renjiro asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Well, Jou's usually the hero in the story, and Emiko is mostly the villain," Haruki reasoned. "And you're on the villain's side. That doesn't sound like you're good guys to me."

"Adults _aren't_ always right," Kana told him. "Dad told me that. That's why it was okay for them all to fight with their parents, and if I ever feel like I'm being mistreated in any way, I'm to sit him down and state my case and then we come to a compromise that makes me feel better. Emiko's Mom and Dad didn't do that. And that's not fair."

Haruki was silent—which was handy, because Monmon was a fierce little guy.

"You're right," Haruki said finally, dropping his hands to his sides and letting his weapon of choice fall to the grass. "You're _right_."

Part of me wanted to call him a traitor, but the rest of me—the _mature_ part, I suppose—realized that what he said was true. I'd blindly allied myself with Jou because he'd been one of my best friends since we were just kids, even before the Digimon Adventures. He was upset, and I took his side. I didn't even think about it. We _were_ being unfair to Emiko, no matter how completely maniacal and sinister she was, even if I frequently worried that _she_ would be the next threat to the Digidestined, _just for the fun of it_. She was still a kid that needed her parents. An evil kid, don't get me wrong. But a kid nonetheless.

This revelation didn't stop me from gripping that cooler for all I was worth. Monmon wasn't beating me. He wasn't.

"How is this even fair?" Iori drawled.

"All's fair in love and war," Palmon pointed out. She and Tapirmon were double-teaming him. Both were armed with brownies, and were throwing them as strategically as they could.

"I didn't say it was unfair for _me_," he said cockily. He picked a stick up off the ground and used it like a baseball bat, hitting the brownies back at whichever threw it.

"It's a _food_ fight," Tapirmon complained. "Sticks aren't food."

"I'm sure some creature eats them," Iori said nonchalantly. "Bugs do at least."

"Eww!" Palmon squealed.

Monmon started growling. I got the feeling I was only a few minutes away from going head to head with a digimon, without any defense.

"Oh God," Azura said anxiously. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Nothin'" Veemon said. "I'm just doin' what your girlfriend said."

"She's _not_ my girlfriend," Azura said quickly. "So you don't need to drag me into this."

"You don't support me," Emiko said, eyes watering instantly, voice wobbling.

"Of course I do," he said.

"Then prove it," she said firmly holding out a cupcake. Tears and wobble gone.

"I'm sorry, Mr Veemon," he said miserably. He took the offered treat and crushed it onto the top of Veemon's head.

"See," Veemon said cheerfully. "Isn't that fun?"

"It was a little fun," Azura admitted.

"Watch out," Veemon said gleefully. "It's _my_ turn now."

"Oh no," Azura said. He turned and ran off as fast as he could, Veemon chasing after him.

The cooler slipped from between my fingers. I quickly grabbed it again and gave it a tug with all my might. Monmon growled again and pulled with all of his might. The cooler was hovering in between the two of us. It was a stale mate. Neither was going to give. My only hope was that Monmon would lose interest faster than I would. He had a short attention span. I was stubborn as hell. I _should_ win.

But it didn't work that way.

We were tugging it and twisting it, and the next thing either of us knew, the cooler was flying through the air, the water bottles and ice flying everywhere, the melted ice splashing towards Tatum, who was staring with wide eyes and screaming as the cooler, ice and water flew at her. It knocked her to the ground, ice scattering across the grass. Tatum was motionless.

Everyone dropped what they were flinging to stare in horror.

"I'm _not_ okay," Tatum called. "I need help."

It was as if everyone let out a sigh of relief before Michael and I rushed to her side. I was stuttering apologies like a fool. Jou came over to examine her wrist which didn't look very good.

"I suggest you put some ice on that," he told her.

"I think I've had enough ice, thanks," Tatum said, trying for a smile. But she still in pain and it showed.

"This has gotten out of hand," Hikari announced. "We're done with this now."

"I agree," I said loudly.

"Oh good," Mimi said. "I'm all gross now."

"I think everyone is," Momoe said, rolling her eyes at Mimi. Mimi stuck her tongue out at her in response.

"Can I get a little help?" Willis called from his tree."

"I wanna story," Chika said. "I don't wanna fight any more."

There was quite a bit of fussing, but all the kids gathered round again for 'story time'. I didn't know who'd have to tell one this time, but I wasn't all that into it today. Probably because I'd already heard all of these or _lived_ them. But whatever, if it kept the kids happy, that was all that mattered.

"Look at you Nikko," Rei sighed. "Come here."

"Aw Ma!" Nikko complained. But she was right. He looked like he dressed up as a cupcake for Hallowe'en. He had so much icing in his hair it was ridiculous.

"Did you take a bath in the cake?" she asked.

"No," Nikko said, as she scrapped the icing off. I felt for the kid though. She singled him out in front of all his friends. Not cool. "Mom, stop!"

"Just a little more," Rei insisted. I winced when I heard Elliot and Makoto start snickering.

"Don't worry, Nikko," Sora said. "Lots of Moms do that. It's cute."

"I'm too big for cutesy stuff," Nikko growled, storming away from Rei and sitting next to Chika, since his friends were laughing at him. Chika scooped some icing off his cheek with her finger and ate it.

"You're sweet," she said with a giggle. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Whose turn is it now?" Takeru asked. "I'm done. I've got nothing else to tell."

"I don't think Taichi's told any," Hikari suggested. I groaned internally. What would I talk about?

"Hey, kid...Azura! What do you want to know?" I asked.

"One thing that confused me profusely was the initial introduction of the Olympus XII, but the lack of follow through. In most books, such a thing would be considered as a plot hole, you realize," Azura pointed out.

"They were supposed to be this really awesome, powerful group of allies," Takeru said moodily.

"I asked them about that," I remembered.

"Oh?" Azura said, cocking his head to the side, showing his interest.

"Yeah!" Nikko shouted. "My dad tells really kick butt stories. We'll finally get one that worth listening to."

"Yeah!" Aika, Makoto and Elliot cheered.

"No pressure," I said, rolling my eyes.

* * *

"Are you sure this where we're supposed to be going?" I complained. My feet were soaked through with rain and mud and we were just in the middle of nowhere, looking for some castle, or Temple or...or ruins or something! We didn't even know where we should be looking. It was getting ridiculous.

"I used the information provided by Natsuko Takaishi and Kae Ichijouji—who got their partner digimon from our targeted destination I may add—to pin point the most likely spot. They _have_ to be here. Nowhere else can fit," Koushiro droned.

"I'd already taken away the entire Digital World by that point. There really isn't a lot to go on," Neo pointed out. "It could be anywhere. Just admit you were wrong."

"No," Koushiro said grumpily. "I will _find_ it."

"Sure you will," Neo said sarcastically.

* * *

"We don't care about how you got there," Mai said. "Not unless something _really_ exciting happened on the way. _Did_ something really exciting happen on the way?"

"...No..."

"Then skip it please," she insisted. "We're losing daylight and I still don't know how to thread these pieces together into an article..."

"Okay then..." I said. "Moving on."

* * *

So Koushiro _did_ find it, and we ended up standing in front of these really scary sort of digimon. There was a definite leader to the group, he was big and golden. He was literally shimmering, and he was carrying what looked like gold weights that were emitting electric shocks. And then he had this cape of feathers...it was almost like angel wings...but in the form of a cape. Yeah. Anyway, he was sitting in the place of power, with a beautiful digimon by his side. She had a similar white and gold theme going on, but she was actually rather skimpily dressed...the point is, it was Jupitermon and Junomon. The king and queen of the Olympus XII. And the other members of their team—minus Minervamon, who was of course with Satoe, and Lunamon and Coronamon who were with Natsuko and Kae respectively—were staring down with us in a way that made my skin crawl.

"Who dares to approach _us_?" Jupitermon thundered.

* * *

"Didn't I tell you it would be exciting?" Nikko asked. His friends leaned forward desperate to hear more.

* * *

"I'm uh...Taichi Yagami, the Digimon Ambassador and the Digidestined of Courage," I said. "I have two other Digidestined with me, from the Digimon Council, Koushiro Izumi and Neo Saiba. We just came to ask a few questions."

"I'm listening," Jupitermon said, sounding intruiged.

"Why didn't you help save the worlds?" Neo said bluntly.

"We were not asked," he said simply.

"That's it?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes," he said.

"In future events all that would be required to assure your assistance in battle would be to request your presence?" Koushiro clarified.

"That is all," Jupitermon said. "We are not mind-readers. We cannot always know what others want of us."

* * *

"And then...?" Makoto asked eagerly.

"That's it. We just had to ask," I said.

"Nobody wants to hear a story like that. You made us think it would be awesome. It was not," Elliot said. "I thought you said he'd tell us something good, Nikko."

"He will," Nikko said. "Won't you, Dad?"

"I'll _try_," I said. "Give me an idea though. I don't know what to say!"

"Oh, something romantic!" Louisa suggested.

"Ew, no," Aika whined. "Not again."

"I might like that," Mai said. "It could be interesting."

"Why not," Azura said. "It appears to be a major theme in all of your lives. You might as well continue with it."

"Why is everyone teaming up against us?" Elliot cried.

"How about I tell a story about me and Rei without Rei actually taking part in it?" I said slowly.

"That might be better," Osamu said.

"Whatever," Nikko said.

"Well..." I said.

* * *

"You wanted to talk, so talk," Yamato instructed. I'd just been pacing the floor for the entire ten minutes he'd been there. I didn't want to admit it, but I'd been pacing for nearly an hour before he even showed up. "What's up?"

"I want to ask Rei to marry me," I announced.

"Then do it," Yamato said bluntly. "Is that it? Can I go now?"

"No! How can I possibly ask her to marry me, Yamato? Her dad hates me and he's never even around. I think we've met twice. And I was on good behaviour both times. He just hates me. And then her mom. Don't get me _started_ about her _mother_!"

"I won't," Yamato assured me. But I ignored him. I was going to rant about her mother. He couldn't stop me.

"The woman hates me more than anything in the entire world. Can you believe that? She barely knows me, because Rei doesn't want us to be alone together for more than thirty seconds. She doesn't trust me _or_ her mother to behave or something. It's stupid. But the problem is, her mom _knows_ I want to propose. She sent Rei away the other day and told me under no circumstances am I to ask Rei for her hand. When I asked why I couldn't, she said it wasn't worth it to tie myself to a girl that was disabled."

* * *

Several people gasped and looked to Rei, who sighed. She was used to it. "She does that all the time. I'm over it."

* * *

"I mean, can you believe that! She's not happy that Rei's happy. She's furious that Rei would think about _"forcing herself into the lives of respectable people"_ which is dumber than anything I've ever heard before."

"From what I know about Mrs Saiba—and as her old neighbour, I actually know a lot, she's kind of loud, you know?—she's just protective. She's trying everything in her power to get Rei to move back home where she can be looked after by the only person Mrs Saiba trusts: herself. She doesn't want to actually lose Rei. I'm pretty sure that Mrs Saiba suffered more from Rei's accident than Rei did. Rei is a well adjusted woman, but her mother's a different story. She kept trying to get me away from Dad when I was younger. She said it wasn't right for a child to be taken from his mother. I told her just where she could stick that advice, and then she never spoke to me again," Yamato said fondly.

"So I should swear at her," I said. "You think that'll help?"

"No," Yamato said loudly. "Don't do that. She'll probably kidnap Rei or something if you did. Neo had to get that habit from somewhere."

* * *

"I doubt it. You were never as bad as her," Rei said rolling her eyes.

"Is this why I don't get to go to Grandma's house?" Nikko asked.

"Kinda..." Rei said.

"I have an evil Grandma," Nikko said turning the idea over in his mind. "Cool."

* * *

"Neo!" I cried. "I forgot about him. He's never going to let me marry her. He doesn't like that we're dating. And he told me that the only reason he likes me at all is because I'm his boss and sign his paychecks. And he doesn't have limitations. What if he destroys the Digital World again just because I want to marry her?"

"I don't think he will. He might feel better about the fact that you're living together if you marry her, so he knows for sure you're not just taking advantage of her or something," Yamato said.

"But what if Rei won't say yes just because none of her family members want me around?" I asked, defeated. "I don't want to make her chose between her family and one that could potentially happen."

"Taichi, its Rei's choice whether she wants to choose or not. If you're ready to get married, chances are she's been ready for ages. She's better at this relationship stuff than you are. You were waiting for her to turn into a demon for years before you finally accepted she wouldn't."

"Yeah, I guess so," I agreed.

* * *

"Excuse me?" Rei gasped.

"I am _not_ a demon, Taichi!" Sora shouted. "Stop bringing it up!"

* * *

"She's her own person, Taichi. She can make her own decisions and she has her own opinions. Her _brother_ doesn't affect them, what makes you think that her mother or father would change her mind? And it's obvious what she's going to say. Of course she's going to marry you."

"You're right," I said, shaking my head. "Yeah. I should focus on Rei. No one else. She's the important one in this."

"There you go," he said. He stood up and stretched. "Well, I'm going home then."

"No!" I shouted. "You have to be Rei while I practice!"

* * *

"And that's when I got out of there," Yamato said. "I'm not Rei and had no desire to pretend to be."

"Dad?" Nikko said.

"What?" I asked.

"I hate you," he said. It wasn't in a _super_ mean way. I knew he didn't _mean_ it. But it still kind of hurt to hear.

"Why?" I wanted to know.

"That was a gross story, not an action-y one," he said.

"I don't have any of those, Takeru used them all," I admitted.

"Haven't you been in a fight with _anybody_ Dad?" Nikko pleaded. "You're supposed to be telling an awesome story that _everyone_ will like. Not boring or sappy or gross ones."

"I guess I had a _kind_ of fight with Sora that _one_ time..." I said slowly. "It's not the fight you're looking for though..."

"I don't care. I'll take anything, Dad," Nikko whined. "I'm desperate!"

"Okay...but I did warn you," I told him.

* * *

"Sora," I said. "Sora, _listen_ to me. You're not broken. You're stronger than you've ever been. You've put up with so much crap in your life and it just raised you into a better person. Now you're ready to take that next step."

"And _what_ is _that_?" Sora asked miserably.

"Well, for _most_ of us, we learned our crests beforehand and then built our lives around that. But for _you_, well, you've built your life and now you have to figure out the meaning of love."

* * *

"NO!" Nikko moaned. "You said it would be a fight. You _said_!"

"I said it wasn't what you expected," I reminded him.

"She's got to learn love..._again_!" Emiko shouted. "How many times can this possibly happen?"

Sora blushed and looked everywhere but at her.

"Can you give me some context here?" Louisa said very seriously. "I think you started us in half-way through a conversation. And I don't like it..."

"Sora and I were talking and she was talking about what a failure she is, and how she's broken and can't be fixed and all sorts of other things that weren't true," I said quickly.

"We were at a Miyako's house," Sora explained.

"And I was there," Miyako added. "Just in case you wanted to know."

"They would've found out," I assured her.

"They'd better have. I'm not even in any of these stories!" she whined.

"Weren't you?" Mari asked, eyebrow raised. Miyako looked sheepishly at the ground.

I rolled my eyes. "Can I continue now?"

"Please do," Louisa said with a cheery smile.

"Just get it over with," Nikko said, glaring at the ground.

* * *

"Oh," Sora said quickly. "No. No, I'm alright."

"Oh please," I scoffed. "Just hear me out."

"No, no, no. NO!" Sora protested.

"He's right you know," Miyako assured her. Which was awesome, because it was totally true, but not many people pointed things out like that. _I_ was _right_. "You're ready."

"I was 'ready' many times before, but I seemed to fail, so I'll stick to being by myself. Thank you _very_ much."

"Sora," I laughed. "Every time you thought you were ready, you chose the wrong guy."

"That's just _not_ true," Sora mumbled.

* * *

"No..." Louisa said, counting it out in her head. "No, it is."

"Yeah, yeah," Sora said with a laugh.

* * *

"Oh, really?" Miyako asked. "Your first boyfriend here was your best friend at the time, and the two of you agree on _nothing_. And the guy who was really in love with you was the one who gave you the advice to get together with him. Then, the reason the relationship fell apart was because _Yamato_ was in the picture."

"And then, when we almost got back together," I continued. "It was because of another guy. _Again_!"

"Which was good because it helped Tacihi move on..." Miyako said slowly. "To a girl that looks...just...like...you..."

* * *

"I don't look just like Sora," Rei said. "I don't."

* * *

Sora and I glared at her.

* * *

"Good!" Rei said. "Because I don't."

* * *

"That's true..." Sora started, totally meaning the part about her relationships and how I moved on to Rei because of our failed attempts...but _not_ about the part where Rei looks like Sora, because that's just _not_ true. Okay! "But—"

I interrupted her, though and continued mine and Miyako's stream of thought. "And you were texting me about _everything_ when you met Kiyoshi and you said that you talked about Yamato for hours—and that's probably why he dated you...he knew you'd be easy pickings but when he tried to...you know..."

* * *

"I don't," Louisa said. "What should I know?"

"Nothing," Michael said firmly. "It's an old, inside story between the two of them. That's all."

"But I wanna know!" Louisa insisted.

"It's kind of a grown-up story," I said. "You should wait a bit."

"Yeah, until your my age," Emiko said with a smirk. "Because I _totally_ know what they meant, and it makes this whole thing hilarious."

"Oh, you've made it _clear_ that you know what they're talking about," Jou said icily.

"Move on," Rei urged. "Like _now_."

* * *

"You said "No" which was great but it obviously put him off—he was a total jerk and you knew it wasn't going to work out. You were using him as a rebound for Yamato."

"And NEO," Miyako said bluntly.

"Don't even get me started on _Neo_," I said coldly. "Neo was a cold hearted douche. He killed my partner, destroyed the Digital World, tried to do the same to us, and the _only_ reason that you dated him was because?!"

"To make Yamato jealous, but—" Sora said quickly.

"To make Yamato jealous!" Miyako repeated in triumph, interrupting Sora protests. "And to top it all off, you got BACK together with him just because he was...what? Honest?"

"It's like..." I said frustrated. "Hey babe" I said, mocking Neo's voice. "It was me who killed your friend."

"At least you were honest about it," Miyako said mocking Sora. "Oh!" She flung herself at me and hugged me dramatically. "Now I _love_ you again!"

"Like—that doesn't even make any sense," I concluded. "But the biggest, most important part here, isn't that the reason you broke up with Neo was because of Yamato."

"And _you_," Sora said defensively.

"But we've already covered me," I said dismissively.

"And your only other boyfriend," Miyako added. "Yamato? You broke up with him...why?"

"Because he wanted to _marry_ you," I answered. "Oh heavens to Betsy, _no. _Marriage? After a relationship? Blasphemous!"

"Look, we're not trying to upset you," Miyako said. "Sora, it's just that—"

"No, it's okay," Sora said with a sense of finality. "You're right. I'm a freak show."

"Not what we meant," I said rolling my eyes, trying to get her to see sense.

"I need to find Yamato," she said.

"If it'll bring you to Yamato, then _yes_ you're a freak show," I said. Miyako hit me.

"Good luck," she said with a smile.

* * *

"And that's the end of the fight," I announced.

"Did it at least work?" Nikko asked grumpily. "Because...like...if it didn't, then I wasted that much time listening to a pointless story."

"Uh...well..." I said. "Yamato called me later that night..."

"No," Nikko groaned. "Not another boring story!"

"Sorry," I said. "So yeah, Yamato called..."

* * *

My phone rang and I picked it up and it was Yamato—which you all know by now—and he sounded pretty chipper.

"Something exciting happen?" I asked, clearly knowing what was going on. I mean, I tell Sora to talk to Yamato and then he calls me, come on! It's so obvious. But I let him have his moment.

"Yeah," he said. "How'd you know?"

"You just sound happy," I said. Almost winking before realizing I was alone and that it would be ridiculously weird to wink at nothing.

"I am," he said. "Finally. I'm even starting to think up brighter songs. Isn't that great?"

_Wow_ I thought. _She turned him around completely._

"So, are you going to tell me what it is, or was there some other reason for your call?"

"Oh, right sorry. Guess who's not a single man anymore?"

"Mmm...That's a tough one. Is it...you?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Yes," he said. "And it's great. Not exactly how I expected things to turn out, you know, but it's awesome anyway. And she's great."

"She sure is," I said.

"I think you two will really hit it off," he continued.

"I think we will," I said slowly. I'd only been one of Sora's best friends since we were kids. I didn't know why he was drawing this out so much.

"I can't wait for you to meet her," he said excitedly.

"Wait, what?" I asked. "Meet her?"

"Well, yeah. You can't be friends if you never get introduced. She's awesome."

"What about Sora?" I demanded.

"What about her?" he asked, honestly sounding confused.

* * *

"What about her!" Mai gasped.

"But—" Louisa blubbered. "What about true love!"

"Didn't Sora talk to him?" Osamu wanted to know. I took his cue to continue the story.

* * *

"Didn't she see you today?" I hedged.

"Oh, yeah," he said. "I told her the news already. She didn't seem overly thrilled about it, but she wished me happiness. I think she and my girlfriend really hit it off. Isn't that great? I was worried it would be awkward, but it looks like we're really starting fresh."

"Sounds great," I said slowly. "Look, I've got to go..."

"Yeah, me too," he said. "I have to tell Takeru."

"You do that," I said and I hung up the phone. What had I done to Sora?

* * *

"It's not like you did it on purpose," Makoto said. "You didn't know. It was an accident."

"That's very mature of you," Mimi said sounding surprised.

"You ruined her life mister," Louisa lectured. "Now how is she supposed to be happy?"

"I don't know," I said sarcastically. "Why don't you ask her?"

"Uh, no," Sora said quickly. "It's _your_ turn to tell stories, not mine."

"And he's picking all the most boring stories he can. It's not fair. Why can't you pick any good ones?" Nikko complained. Elliot seemed thrilled by the idea that my stories weren't as exciting as Nikko promised, but I couldn't come up with anything thrilling. I wasn't even _there_ for the D-Reaper escapade, so I couldn't even explain the battle, and I haven't had to really _fight_ anyone since Yggdrasil. The worlds are at peace (with that one minor D-Reaper blip), what did he expect from me? Takeru already told all the exciting stories in his books.

Well, there was one that was _very_ "exciting" to _me_. I didn't know if he'd feel the same, but I could give it a shot.

"There was this_ one_ time that I was far more terrified than I'd ever been, even in the face of Yggdrasil," I told him.

"YES!" he shouted. "Tell me!"

* * *

"Get out, Taichi!" Rei screamed at me. Her face was bright red and contorted in pain. She looked miserable, and now she was telling me to leave. I couldn't even _try_ to help her through this. What did she want from me? How could I leave? It wasn't fair!

But of course I left.

She was determined for me to leave, and I couldn't exactly stress her out. Not right then. It didn't help that the nurses were dragging me out of the room.

* * *

"What was Mom doing in the hospital?" Nikko asked. "Was she hurt in a fight? Can you tell me about the fight?"

"I wasn't in a fight," Rei said with a smile. "Just listen."

* * *

There were complications. I had to stay in the waiting room to hear how the surgery turned out. I couldn't be in there, holding her hand as I wanted to. Why didn't we just go to an Earth hospital in the first place? The Digital World wasn't prepared for this, despite its predominately human doctors. They weren't trained for this. They were hired because of the digimon. Not for the handful of humans that chose to live here.

"Taichi," Sora said, resting a hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong?"

* * *

"I think that's what we'd all like to know," Haruki said. "There's no point building suspense anymore. We're all tired. Just tell us."

"Fine," I said moodily.

* * *

"They kicked me out," I said. "And Rei didn't want me to stay anyway. But if I can't be in there, how am I supposed to help if things go badly?"

"You need to calm down," she said. "Things like this happen all the time."

"I don't want Rei to be a statistic," I hissed. "I want her to be okay."

"Taichi, it's just a routine caesarean section. They happen a lot. Just because there were complications doesn't mean she's leaving you. You're going to need her. And she's fighter Taichi. You know that. You see her fight every day. She can do this, just have faith in her."

"I love her Sora, and I can't lose her," I swore.

* * *

"Mom's dying!" Nikko screamed. "That's not exciting! That's not good. I don't like this."

"I'm not dying sweetheart," Rei said, patting his head when he threw himself at her. "I'm just having a baby, and your father's being far too dramatic while telling the story to a bunch of young children."

I could hear the lecture in her voice even though she was comforting him when she said it.

* * *

"Taichi, snap out of it!" Sora demanded. "Just sit down and take deep breaths. She's having a baby, not heart surgery. She'll be fine. Did Jou _tell_ you to worry?"

"No," I said, calming down slightly. "He just told me to get out."

"Then that's all you need to focus on," she said. She pushed me into a chair and held my hand firmly. "Now, did you call _anyone_ aside from me?"

"Hikari," I said. "She's gone to get Mom and Dad. And then I called Yamato. I think I told him to call Neo. But I don't remember. It's been a bit hectic. It's not like there are ambulances in the Digital World. I had to send Pal and Pul ahead of us and have Agumon digivolve all the way to VictoryGreymon and have him fly her to the Temple medical wing as fast as he possibly could, which always makes her sick, so it wasn't a good idea. And then I had to convince the doctors here to even take her as a patient, but it's not like we had time to find someone else, right? It's go time now! And Jou's in there, getting to see _my baby_ being born but I can't and it's just so hard!"

"There, there," she said, patting my leg. "It'll be over soon. You said Hikari's coming? Good. She'd be furious if you left her out of this. She's been learning to knit just so she can make something for the baby. She made a frilly, purple sweater and a lacy, pink blanket. I keep telling her that it _could_ be a boy, but she says she's got a feeling."

* * *

"And guess who turned out to be right," Sora said smugly.

"Yeah, yeah," Hikari said with a laugh. "I tried at least."

* * *

"Sora, just tell it to me straight," I said. "Am I going to be a bad father?"

"Why would you think that?" she demanded.

"I don't know. I'm not like Jou. I'm not patient, or cautious. I'm kind of a wild card. Everyone knows it. How can _I_ be expected to look after another life?"

"Agumon's doing pretty great so far," she said, pointing to Agumon, who was in the corner, eating away his worries. I stopped doing that after that run in with gluttony. I wished I could trust myself in order to give it a try though. He seemed perfectly peaceful now. He always did with a tray of sandwiches though...

"Agumon died. On my watch," I reminded her.

"But you've learned from that," she insisted. "You're going to be fine. Rei's going to be fine. The _baby_ is going to be fine. Just take some deep breaths."

Hikari came running into the room then, and Sora quickly got up and dragged her—and Mom and Dad who followed closely after—back into the hallway. Apparently they might upset me further, _just_ when she'd gotten me stable. Or that's what I thought she said anyway, before she got too far away for me to hear anymore.

"Taichi?" Agumon called, putting down his sandwich.

"Yeah buddy," I said.

"Am I still going to be your friend?"

"What? Of course you'll be my friend. You're the best friend I've got, Agumon. Why do you think that'll ever change?"

"You're gonna have a baby now. And the worlds are all at peace. I thought maybe you didn't need me anymore."

"I'm always going to need you, Agumon," I promised.

"So the baby's not gonna replace me?"

"No," I swore. "You're a part of the family. You're never getting replaced. Don't worry about it."

"I was just worried because Emiko took so much of Jou's time," Agumon explained nervously. "And Gomamon was left behind. I don't want to be left behind Taichi."

"You won't buddy," I said. I patted the seat next to me, and he rushed over with his sandwiches. He clambered onto the chair and leaned into me.

"I'm glad," he said.

"Me too," I told him.

"Taichi?" Jou called. I heard him before I saw him. He came in with a towel that he was using to dry his hands. "You can come and see her now, if you want."

"She's okay?"

"They're both fine. Someone wants to meet you," he said with a grin.

"Who?" I asked.

* * *

"I know, I know," I said, holding up my hands to shield myself from the looks of disbelief on my audience's faces. "Thinking back now, I should've known what he meant, but I was stressed and just had a heart-to-heart with Agumon. And I didn't get it."

"You are an idiot," Nikko said.

"Yeah," Rei sighed. "But he's _our_ idiot." She hugged Nikko to her—who was still practically sitting on her lap from my unintentional scary story earlier—and he leaned back on her, trying to hide a smile.

* * *

"Your son," he said.

"My son? _Son_? As in, the baby's a boy?" I said. My head was spinning. The next thing I remember, I was fainting.

* * *

"You fainted?" Elliot said with a laugh. "That's funny."

"For you maybe," I said, rolling my eyes, but I couldn't help but smile. "So how was that, Nikko?"

"It wasn't what I wanted," he said with a small smile. He climbed off of Rei and ran over at me. "But it'll do." He threw his arms around me and crawled into my lap, settling in, it looked like, for the long haul.

"You're not too old to for this?" I asked.

"No. I don't think so," he said. "If you aren't."

"I'm not," I promised.

"Good," he said, leaning his head back on my shoulder. I ruffled his hair.

"So," I said. "Who's next?"

**Next Time on Happily Ever After:** This still sounds like some cheesy soap opera. but yeah. Who is next? Click the next button and find out yo! It's up yeeeeh.


	7. Lie Detective

**Y/N: **It's not exactly a secret that I don't like writing for Ken. But knowing that this is building towards his ending makes me sort of question that intense dislike of mine. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, but it wasn't exactly enjoyable either. My goal is that you can't tell how much I didn't like it from the story itself. I try to respect Ken as a character even when I don't like him.**  
**

**U/N: **Ken's kind of boring. :P But this chapter was actually the only one with a plot originally so that can't be bad. I mean, Stuff happens. It's cool.

**Title: Happily Ever After**

**By: Yukiraking**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters**

**Chapter 7: Lie Detective**

_**Ken Ichijouji: 6:00 pm**_

The kids looked around to their parents, waiting for someone to answer Taichi. No one did. I doubted that any of us really wanted to have to tell stories to this crowd of harsh critics. I knew I didn't have any that would keep their interest.

"Do we really need more stories?" Sora asked. "I think it's getting pretty late. We ought to stop for today."

She was met with the loudest group protest I'd heard from them yet.

"What do you want to hear?" she asked hesitantly.

"When do you and Yamato get together?" Louisa demanded. "I won't leave from this spot until I know. I really won't. I'll sleep in the rain if I have to. I will get my story."

"Me too," Nikko said. "I want something different. Something we haven't heard yet. I'm sick of love stories though."

"I wanna hear about me," Mai offered. "Can that happen?"

"Me too!" Osamu added with a grin. "Maybe both of us together?"

"Well..." Sora said. "All I know is that I sort of went my own way for the next year. I don't have any stories about either of you, and nothing happened between Yamato and me until we met again..."

"Ken has some _different_ stories," my traitorous wife said with a smile. "And I'm sure he's got some of Mai and Osamu."

"B-b-but _Sora_," Louisa whined.

"Be patient," Kana said. "They'll be saving it to the end. Or maybe it was really embarrassing, and they don't want to tell us."

"I think they're trying to bore us to death so they don't have to keep telling mediocre stories about their average lives after they peaked too soon," Makoto said.

"And on that bright note, I suppose I'll start with Mai and Osamu..." I said with fake cheer.

* * *

It sure was different having two kids at home. I was used to one of course, and watching one child was relatively easy since we had the apartment baby-proofed. She couldn't get into _anything_, let alone stuff she wasn't supposed to. And it was nice. Also, she was five, so really we should have taken the safety latches off of stuff, but we knew we wanted more kids, and it seemed like a lot of extra work to take it down only to have to put it back up...but that's not the point. The point was: I had a son.

The only things I'd known about raising a son were what I'd heard from Daisuke. And it seemed like it was going to be a blast. Not that my daughter wasn't a perfect little angel, she just wasn't as calm as her brother was as a baby. He slept through the night pretty much right off the bat, which was nice. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

* * *

"Get to the point already," Mai complained. "This is so dull. And no story starring me should be capable of being so boring."

"This is how I tell stories," I said, defending myself.

"We know," Osamu groaned.

* * *

We brought Osamu home on a Tuesday I think, and he was so small, wrapped in a blue blanket—I know, it's cliché, but it's true!—and the second we walked in the door, Mai was running at us, abandoning Haruki on the floor with his toy cars. I'd asked Daisuke to watch her while I went to get Miyako, of course, that's why Haruki was there. We didn't just leave Haruki to babysit Mai. That would be entirely irresponsible of us.

* * *

"We didn't question it," Makoto said dryly. "We're kids. We don't think of that stuff."

"Er—right," I said. He was being extra critical today. He must really be tired. Maybe my stories could do their job and just get them all to fall asleep... I could dream at least.

* * *

Anyway, Mai completely disregarded her friend because we were home. She pushed her little glasses up her nose and looked imploringly at me.

"Is it a baby sister?"

"No," I said. "You've got a baby brother."

"I have a baby boy," she said slowly...a small smile spread across her face, stretching into a bright grin. "Give me my baby."

"Your brother?" I clarified. "You can hold him. But you've got to sit on the couch, and we'll use pillows to prop him up."

"No," Mai insisted, holding her hands out for the baby carrier. "Give me my baby."

"It's not _your_ baby," I corrected.

"Yes," she said with a glare.

"Just let her look at him," Miyako said tiredly from behind me. I carefully set Osamu on the floor for Mai to peek at before I rushed over to help my weary wife. She had just delivered my child. The least I could do was help her to a comfy seat. And make her dinner that night. And rub her feet whenever she asked me to. There was a long list of things I planned to do for her, but it's also not necessary to the story. Anyway—

* * *

"Is this even really a story?" Takeru asked.

"I'm telling it, aren't I?" I said, confused.

"But it can't really be a story if there's no point to it. Or a plot at least," he explained.

"It's a memory, not a book," I insisted.

"Is there going to be a point to this?" Nikko asked. "So far, you've made Dad's stories seem way more interesting. But that's it."

"Well..." I said. "No. There's no point really. Mai just claimed her brother as her own child, and wouldn't let me near him to even change his diaper until he was three months old. I could only spend quality time with him once she'd gone to bed. She's just a kooky girl."

"That's the most interesting story you could come up with about me?" Mai said. "That's so bad."

"You put me on the spot. I'm not instinctual. I need to plan everything in great detail before I say it. I didn't do that. This was just a cute memory that came to mind," I said defensively, yet again.

"Tell us something else," Elliot said. "We don't want that one anymore."

"Right... Well," I said, thinking hard, trying to scrap up a story to tell. _Nothing_. "I guess..."

* * *

Moving to a new house can be hard. But sometimes it's exactly what is needed. And with two children, four digimon, Miyako and myself, our old apartment really wasn't cutting it anymore. We needed the space. And after we thought about it, we realized we really should've found and actual _home_ once Mai was born, it just never occurred to us at the time. Anyway, we found a home big enough for our purposes, and there was a yard for Mai and Osamu to play in with their digimon. We had enough space to invite our friends over for dinner without tripping over one another, which was also fantastic, and really, it was one of the best decisions of our lives.

* * *

"Right after getting married when we did," Miyako said with a loving smile. I couldn't help but smiling back. Osamu and his friends were gagging over the sight, but if anything, that just encouraged us...

"The story, Dad," Mai said with a sigh. "I'd just _love_ to see where you're going to go with it."

"Me too," I muttered.

* * *

"I think we should hang this picture above the couch, what do you think?" Miayko asked me, trying to hold up a large frame that held one of Mai's kindergarten paintings. I didn't know whether it was a unicorn or a cactus. But Mai had been proud of it, and Miyako fell in love with Mai's artwork. She had several smaller paintings framed as well, but this was her favourite.

"You _could_," I said slowly. I didn't know how I felt about decorating our newly bought home like a kindergarten classroom—not that I wasn't proud of Mai as well.

* * *

"I'm _sure_," Mai said sarcastically, but she winked, so I knew I was forgiven.

* * *

"Where do you think we should put it then?" Miyako snapped. "It's our prized painting. We need to put it somewhere where we can show it off. I don't just want it tucked in Mai's room like at that horrible apartment."

Another reason the house was a good idea: Miyako was still scared of the apartment. The kids took up a lot of her time, so she didn't think about it too much, but she was still scared of the shadows. If I was late from work, and the kids were already in bed and Hawkmon had fallen asleep, I could almost always find her on the verge of a panic attack. It really should have been a more pressing need for us to get a new house when you think about it. But we didn't until after Osamu was born, so she suffered there for _years_.

* * *

"I think I'm a terrible husband," I said, stopping the story.

"You're not," Miyako insisted. "It wasn't just you."

"I really am. Why didn't that matter to us?" I asked. "It was really important."

"Can you guys have this discussion later? Like when we're all asleep?" Osamu suggested.

"Okay," I said. I looked to Miyako. "But we _will_ talk."

"If you think we need to," she said nodding.

* * *

"Does it _really_ need to be the focal point though?" I asked. Miyako glared at me. I quickly thought up a defense she might agree with. "But was about Osamu. He'll no doubt do paintings in kindergarten too, when he gets there. Are you going to leave his best painting to be hung in the _bathroom_ because Mai's is in the living room? I just don't think it's fair for _him_. Mai's paintings should be in her room, and his can be in his when he's old enough to paint. This is just for the sake of future arguments our children could have."

"That might be true," Miyako said, still glaring. "But Osamu is four months old. He's not going to kindergarten for years..."

"But he'll have to grow up looking at Mai's paintings every day, wondering if he'll ever be able to make something as..._magnificent_ as that. It might be detrimental to his self-confidence," I said quickly, hoping she couldn't tell I was lying through my teeth.

* * *

"I could," Miyako said. "I was choosing to ignore it. I wanted to know how far you would go to get your way."

"Was I really _that_ bad at painting?" Mai wanted to know.

"Yes," I said, just as Miyako said "No."

"Which is it?" she demanded.

"All kids suck," Osamu said. "I remember kindergarten. I remember taking my paintings _off_ of my wall because they were embarrassing when my friends came over."

"I don't even remember mine," Mai complained.

"I think I still have them somewhere," Miyako said thoughtfully. "I might be able to dig them up."

"Cool," Mai said happily.

"As interesting as this all is," Makoto said. "Which it isn't. Just tell your story, okay?"

"Right," I said with a sigh. I'd been hoping they'd forget.

* * *

"_Maybe_ you're right," Miyako said, rolling her eyes. "But I still want it somewhere important."

"Just hang it in the hallway then. Not in the living room. Anywhere else!" I pleaded.

"Fine," Miyako growled. "But you owe me."

"Right," I promised. "Just as long as our guests—I mean Osamu doesn't have to stare at it constantly."

"Uh huh," she said, not looking pleased.

"So, Osamu's not too much to handle when I'm at work is he?" I asked. "Because I'm sure I could get some time off to help out if you need it."

"No," she said. "He's a good baby. And Mai's at school all day. She's a big help when she's home. And Hawkmon helps too."

"We don't know any of the neighbours here," I pointed out.

"And?" she wanted to know.

"And we got Mrs Kita to watch Mai when you were at work. I mean, we've still got time to get to know our new neighbours, you've still got eight months left of maternity leave, and I don't want you to think I'm rushing this, but I really think we need to plan ahead, because we never do that, and this is our son's safety in question, and really—"

"I get it Ken," Miyako said. "I just don't know if it'll be necessary."

"Why not?" I asked.

"I don't want to miss so much of my kids' lives anymore. And we're in a good place financially for once. And if I _really_ need to, I could just get a part time job somewhere," she said sounding reluctant.

"But you love your job," I pointed out.

"I love my kids more though..." she said.

* * *

"That's the point of the story?" Makoto drawled.

"That's so disappointing," Louisa said.

"You're playing the will she/won't she game," Haruki said. "But we already know she goes back to work. She still works there—or she did, before Taro was born. So does Momoe. They work together and talk about it all cryptically just to be annoying."

"Haruki," Kurayami scolded, but it lost effect, because she was laughing.

"It's what I have to work with, okay?" I said.

"Watching paint dry would be more interesting," Elliot said.

"Can we do that?" Chika asked excitedly.

"You're a detective!" Makoto shouted. "It's one of the most exciting jobs out of all of the parents. You've got to have good stories."

He was right. That I was a detective, I mean. And I did add a lot of really exciting cases to my repertoire since I started Stinger PI working with Stingmon...

"Well, I suppose there are lots of cases, but I can't share them with you that would break the confidentiality agreement I have with my clients. I can only share with the police to ensure that justice is served. And you're all minors. A lot of the stuff I've worked with isn't really suitable for you to hear about..." I said apologetically. "I could tell you about the process of starting Stinger PI, and trust me there was a lot of trouble, but that's about it..."

"NO!" several kids shouted.

"Are you trying to put us to sleep?" Makoto asked sounding suspicious.

_Yes_

"Not at all," I said instead. He didn't look convinced.

"I think you all ought to go to sleep," Yamato said. "It's nearly eight. And you've been playing all day. You _should_ be exhausted."

"You're just saying that because you want to have grown-up talk," Aika said grumpily.

"Maybe," Yamato said guiltlessly.

"I don't think we _need_ grown-up talk," Takeru said. "It's none of our business."

"Really," Yamato said. "And you're _not_ going to find some way to write it out as an extra for your book series."

"I'm not. I finished the series. There's no point in digging into someone else's life when it doesn't tell the story of how we saved the world," Takeru said reasonably.

"So you're _not_ interested?" Mimi asked.

"I am, but I'm going to let them tell me when they've finished this pointless fighting," he said.

"You've turned a new leaf in the last twenty minutes," Yamato drawled.

"What are you talking about?" Takeru asked tensely.

"You were always digging into _my_ life," he said. "How is this any different?"

"You're my _brother_, not my friend's daughter. And you can't tell me I didn't help you," Takeru said.

"Sometimes, I'll admit, but it doesn't mean it wasn't annoying as hell. And why do you get to pick and choose for _everyone_ who gets involved in what? I might be really invested in this situation!" Yamato said.

"Yeah, but in case you haven't noticed, you're on the _wrong_ side. Again. Why do you always do that?" Takeru snapped. "You'd think you'd get used to losing by now."

"Do you really want to go with me?" Yamato said angrily. "Because this can get real ugly, real quick."

"Maybe I do," Takeru said. "Might knock you down a peg!"

"SHUT UP!" Sora shouted. It was more like a scream really. She sent the scariest glare I'd ever seen towards Yamato. He looked surprised at her anger. I rolled my eyes. He didn't even know why she was so mad. "You're being idiots. You're scaring the kids. Kids? Why don't you guys go play? I'll go with you. Doesn't that sound like fun? Ken?"

"Yeah?" I asked nervously.

"You'll come too? And Mimi?" Sora suggested. Again, it was more like an order, since Mimi and I weren't about to disagree with her right then.

"No problem," I said and began ushering the kids toward the open field. Most of the younger kids wanted to play duck-duck-goose, where they were joined by both Mimi and Sora. I was left to supervise the older ones. It wasn't a difficult job. Takeru and Yamato hadn't started arguing again, which was good. You could practically _feel_ the animosity between them from here, despite them being quite far away though. Their argument left an effect on their kids though, because I was soon drawn to observe—I was a detective, we didn't _spy_, we gathered information—their disagreement.

"My dad was totally going to kick _your_ dad's butt," Aika said.

"No he wasn't. Uncle Yamato is _wrong_, so he was going to lose," Hiro said firmly.

"You're dreaming," Aika said. "My dad's way stronger."

"And has a history of joining the bad guys," Hiro said smugly. "My dad's _always_ been a good guy."

"So what?" Aika said. "That totally doesn't matter. Because my dad can win any fight sent his way."

"He couldn't beat your _mom_," Hiro said. "Which means he can lose. So he'd lose against my dad. That's just how this works."

"But—"

"And your _mom_ is on my dad's side too," Hiro continued. "And she's always been a good guy too. She's almost always smarter than your dad too. When your mom and dad fight, who always wins?"

"Mom," Aika admitted begrudgingly.

"So who do you _really_ think is right?" Hiro pressed.

"Probably Mom," Aika said grumpily.

"And she's on the same side as me and Dad. So really, your dad is going to lose," Hiro reasoned.

"That's not fair though," Aika complained.

"But Jou's not being fair to Emiko. He won't even let her explain how the stork came to give her the baby. _That's_ a story I'd like to hear," Hiro said. "I thought the stork was only supposed to give babies to people that were in love. And she's not. So who did the stork think would be the dad?"

"Maybe it's that wimpy guy, her friend?" Aika suggested.

"No," Hiro said, crinkling his nose. "They're friends. You can't love your friends..."

"But didn't Takeru say—" Aika said thinking about all of our stories.

"No," Hiro said. "Because you can't really be friends with somebody you're in love with. Your parents' story tells us that."

"Maybe you're right..." Aika said.

I stopped listening around then. They weren't making sense anymore, and I really thought my head would start hurting if I thought about their logic anymore. Part of me felt like it would be more responsible of me to correct them, but I thought it might be funny to see how long they would think this way. None of kids were really old enough for love yet anyway.

I liked to think that way anyway.

"Why are you so boring Dad?" Mai demanded, drawing my attention away from my inner musings. She had her little notebook crushed into a fist while she put her hands on her hips. Osamu was next to her, his arms crossed across his chest, nodding in agreement.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said honestly.

"Your story telling. We _know_ you can tell better stories that that. You've had my entire lifetime to collect amazing stories involving me _and_ Osamu, but that's the one you picked?" Mai said, raising her eyebrow at me.

"And I don't care about why we live at our house," Osamu said. "I wanted to hear something funny."

"I thought the painting this _was_ funny," I said, put out.

"It was, a little," Mai allowed. "But he wanted something that _everyone_ could laugh at. Something that made everyone see how great we could be."

"You guys _are_ great. They know that. They're your friends," I said.

"But Nikko got made fun of because his dad told bad stories," Osamu said. "And then you told boring-er ones."

"Boringer isn't a word, you meant more boring," Mai lectured.

"Whatever," he complained. "Why would you do that Dad?"

"Here's the thing," I said, kneeling down so I could be closer to Osamu's level, since he was the one that needed the reassurance more. "Those stories? They're not boring to me. They are some of the most important memories I have. Even more important and precious than all of those battles Takeru wrote about in his books. You guys, your mom, your brother, my job, they are the foundation of everything that I am today. I wouldn't change a thing. No matter how boring you all say it was. It means something to _me_. _You_ mean everything to me."

"Dad," Osamu said with a smile. Mai rolled her eyes but grinned regardless, dropping to her knees like me. I wrapped an arm around both of them and pulled them close.

"I love you," I told them.

"Love you too," they mumbled into my shoulders.

I was disappointed to hear screaming interrupting my loving moment with my children. Okay, maybe I wouldn't call it _screaming _exactly. But there was arguing going on, I knew that for sure. I looked like Emiko had taken the kids' absence to mean she could have a go at her parents without getting in trouble for it.

"What is wrong with you?" I heard her scream.

"You two go play with your friends," I suggested.

"But I should record this..." Mai said nervously.

"No you shouldn't," I assured her. "Go play."

"Thanks Dad," she said. She always acted so mature, I forgot there were some things she wasn't prepared to handle. I was kind of glad in a way to find out she was still a kid. I'd been afraid she was growing up too quickly on me.

I went to join the other adults, who were all staying well out of Emiko's way. It looked like Jou and Momoe teamed up on her.

"Be reasonable Emiko," Momoe pleaded.

"REASONABLE? How is anything you've said since I told you been reasonable?" Emiko said laughing manically. "_I've_ been the most mature of the three of us, and it's not a good look on me."

"You'll have to get used to it now _won't you_," Jou sneered. "You should've thought of that before you got yourself into this."

"It was an _accident_," Emiko snapped. "We didn't mean for it to happen."

"But you knew it was a possibility," Momoe insisted. "You should have been more careful."

"There you two go with the should've, could've, would've routine. We all know what _you_ were doing at my age. I'm proof of that. Why is it so different for me? How would it be different if I had a baby," Emiko wanted to know. Interesting choice of words. I filed them away, trying to figure out how I could use them.

Jou and Momoe paused, gaping their mouths and not coming up with an answer, and that was all it took for Emiko to turn on her heel and storm off.

Everyone was silent. No one wanted to be the first to speak. But it wasn't long before everyone divided into teams again, though I noticed that Taichi didn't fight for Jou, he was fighting against him. I wondered when that happened. I also noticed that Rei had taken the time to put a cushion under her brother's head. I wished we could switch places. I'd love to sleep through all of this.

I did notice that Emiko's friend—Azura was looking around nervously. He was skittish and I almost felt guilty that my first thought was to use him to confirm my suspicions about Emiko's words.

"Hey," I said. He jumped a little; I supposed I must've surprised him. "Can we talk?"

His eyes widened, and he glanced back at Joe and Momoe, who were still fuming. I guess he was more scared of them than me, because he agreed to follow me to the edge of the woods. If I was him, I would've been more than a little suspicious at that point.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about, Sir?" he asked nervously.

"Something Emiko said," I told him, as if it were no big deal. "She said _if_ she had the baby. I just wanted to know if something was wrong with it. Is it in danger? I may not think she's really ready to be a parent, but I don't want something bad to happen to her _or_ the baby."

"Uh..." Azura stalled. I felt for sure that my suspicions were warranted by this point.

"Did she tell you to keep it a secret? Because that's not something that should be kept from people. Not when they're causing her all of this stress," I said.

"She didn't tell me what to say!" Azura said miserably.

"So you _can_ tell me, if she didn't say you couldn't," I surmised. "Which is good, because this stress could lead to further complications. I don't want her to lose the baby."

"She _can't_ lose the baby," Azura said crumpling before my eyes. "Because there _isn't_ one."

Right in one! Go me.

"I know," I said. "I just needed you to confirm it."

His eyes were wide. He was definitely wishing he'd stayed behind with Jou and Momoe right then. "You can't tell her. You can't tell anybody. She's going to _hate_ me for giving it away."

"She won't hate you," I assured him.

"But she will. She made me swear I wouldn't say anything. But she didn't prepare me for questioning! What am I going to do? She can't hate me. I can't handle if she hates me. Not when I—" he ranted before cutting himself off, looking at me nervously.

And the plot thickens.

"Go on," I prompted.

"No, I uh... She just can't hate me," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly. "She's uh...my best friend. I can't lose my best friend. Yeah. That's it. That's all."

"I'm sure," I said rolling my eyes.

"You're not going to tell her, are you?" he pleaded.

"Tell her what?" I asked slyly.

"Any of it?" he said hopefully.

"No," I said. "I'll leave you out of it."

"Thank you," he said. His whole body relaxed. There was a lot at stake for him in my decision. Interesting. I wondered how long he'd felt this way about my niece. I also wondered why I wasn't opposed to it. I always thought I wouldn't be able to let go when _any_ of the kids had potential suitors. But I didn't mind him. Huh.

"You can go join the kids if you want," I offered.

"Better than going back there," he said with a short laugh. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked next to me, starring at the ground the entire way. It turned out to be a good thing that we'd headed over when we did. Mimi and Sora were standing in the middle of the circle of kids starring each other down. I felt another argument brewing.

"There's the hooligan now," Mimi said, noticing Azura and myself.

"He's not a hooligan," Sora snapped. "He's a very polite, smart, _good_ kid. He's not the devil incarnate."

"Are you _sure_ about that? He ruined my god-baby's life!" Mimi shouted.

"No he didn't. He _changed it_, yes, but that's all you can say. Did Makoto ruin your life?" Sora asked.

"Of course not! Koushiro and I planned his birth. We were ready for it," Mimi said haughtily.

"And if you'd been eighteen when he was born, and all of your friends and family turned their backs on you, and all you had was your baby and Koushiro, how would you feel about everything?" Sora asked.

"How am I supposed to know? I _waited_ to have kids. I didn't want any when I was younger," Mimi said, rolling her eyes.

"Think about it. If Makoto had been born when you were eighteen, and you were in Emiko's place?" Sora insisted.

"I don't know," Mimi snapped. "I really don't. I just know that she'll resent that baby and that boy for keeping her from her dreams, and I don't want that for her. She's got so much to strive for right now. I want all the world for her. She couldn't have _waited_ a couple of years at least?"

"Hey!" I shouted. Realizing how bad Mimi was making Azura feel. Knowing what I knew then, this argument seemed completely ridiculous, not to mention irrelevant. "I thought you brought the kids over here to keep them from the fighting, not to continue it!" They both looked ashamed of their actions, and looked at the kids.

"I'm sorry," Sora said.

"Not as sorry as me," Mimi said quickly. They glared at each other one last time. "Maybe we ought to join the others again. This separation thing isn't keeping us from fighting..."

"You do that," I told them. "I've got a niece to find."

"Bring her back," Sora told me. She put an arm around Azura's shoulder and lead him back to the rest of the adults, a long line of kids trailing behind them. I noticed Louisa was missing though. She must've been serious about not moving from her spot.

I looked for seven minutes before I found Emiko. She was cuddling with Monmon. She wasn't crying though. I didn't think she would. I wouldn't know what to do if she ever did either. She was a strong girl.

"Hey," I said softly.

"Oh, it's you," she said, sounding a tad disappointed.

"Expecting someone else?" I said trying for a joking tone.

"You could say that," she said. "But I didn't really think either of them would come. They aren't happy about the baby after all. But then again...if I remember correctly, neither are you."

"I wasn't," I said. "But I know there's no baby, Emiko."

"What?" she gasped placing a hand on her stomach. "How can you say that? Disregarding my baby right where it can hear you."

"Emiko," I said firmly.

"Fine," she said. "How did you find out?"

"Doesn't matter," I said. "I did. I want to know how long you'd have let this go on. What were you planning to do when your stomach wasn't growing, when it became obvious there wasn't a baby in there?"

"I had it all planned out. I was gonna get some pregnancy pads, you know to _pretend_ I was pregnant, and I'd find someone who was having a baby that didn't want it, and convince them that I was the perfect person to give it to, and then show up one day with the baby and be like 'Look guys, it came out' and just go with it. And when I got tired of the thing, I'd just get rid of it," she said with a shrug.

"You can't just _get rid_ of a kid," I admonished.

"Why not?" she demanded. Her eyes shone with her misery. "That's what Mom and Dad are doing! I wanted to know that they'd still want me after I went to school. After I grew up. Became a proper adult, a parent. They said they'd love me no matter what my dream was, no matter where life took me! So I tested them. And they _failed_. They failed. Mom and Dad don't want me anymore. God, they've already thrown me out the door, and changed the locks. It's like I'm not their kid anymore. Like they're not Mom and Dad. I just wanted to know they weren't going to change no matter what crazy stuff I throw at them."

"They do love you," I said confidently.

"They have a funny way of showing it!" she screamed. "They're done with me. They've as good as said it."

"They don't want to see their baby girl grow up. I understand that. I do the same every time I look at Mai. I know she's getting older. I _know_ some day she's going to go moony eyed over someone. She'll bring someone home and she'll beg us not to embarrass her, but I know I'll do it anyway. Because I know I'll be trying to scare him away from her. I don't want her to grow up. And I know Jou feels the same. He has for years," I explained.

"And that makes his behaviour okay?" she asked incredulously. "If I was _really_ having a baby and this was his reaction, what would you say then?"

"That he understands his father now more than he ever did before. He's not his father normally, but they do have the same need for consistency," I said with a shrug.

"But he did the same thing," she insisted. "Only it was _real_ for him. I'm real. I'm not a fake baby. He was young when he had me. Or _Mom_ had me."

"Exactly. He knows he's going to have to let you go at some point, but he wasn't expecting it so soon. He wanted you to come back from school excited to be home. He wanted the crazy pranks and fun—yet slightly terrifying—atmosphere that follows you wherever you go. And he's losing you to this boy that you hated for most of your life," I said. "It doesn't excuse his behaviour. Not a bit. And I'm sorry I chose his side. I wasn't really seeing _you_. I was seeing Mai. And I panicked. Miyako was right. I was a bit of an idiot. I wasn't seeing how this was affecting _you_. I was only seeing this from Jou's perspective."

"I know. I figured a lot of you didn't want to be involved. And the kids don't even know what we're fighting about," Emiko said ruefully. "Now Dad hates me and Azura. Azura didn't want to do this in the first place, you know? But he does whatever I want."

"He's a good little minion," I agreed.

"Azura is _not_ a minion," Emiko said fiercely. "He's my equal. The only equal I have in the entire world. Well, except for Monmon of course."

Huh. It looked like Azura's feelings weren't so unrequited as he thought. Good for them. If they ever figured it out anyway.

"I apologize for assuming," I said, holding my hands up in surrender.

"You should," she said, before laughing. "You're not going to tell my Dad, are you?"

"No. But you should, before this lie gets any bigger," I instructed.

"Yeah, yeah," she said, rolling her eyes. "You always _were_ the wet blanket."

"Are you going to head back?" I asked.

"Maybe," she said.

"You left Azura to the wolves," I reminded her. "He looks like he'd cave under pressure."

"He told you," she gasped. "I shouldn't have left him alone. That's the only reason you figured it out!"

"Let's go then," I said, offering her my hand. She brushed it aside and gave me a sassy look. I'd forgotten how fiercely independent she was.

Things were pretty quiet by the time we got back. The air was still tense, but no one was arguing. At least not at that _exact_ moment. I was right about Louisa. She was still seated in the same spot. She glared at me. I guess she wasn't all that pleased with my extended absence.

"Tell me about Sora and Yamato," she demanded.

"What about the rest of the year break?" I asked.

"Skip it," she said. "It looks like it was all pretty boring. It must be like the four years between Takeru's second and third books. It's the only time period that he never touched on before the end of the fifth one. It was unimportant in the grand scheme of things, obviously. So just skip them. Even _you_ can't make Sora and Yamato drama boring, can you?"

"Fine," I groaned. "I'll tell another stupid story."

* * *

We were celebrating _something_. I can't remember what though. Maybe it was Osamu's birth... I know it was 2019, about April, I think. Anyway we'd gathered at Mimi's restaurant. Most everyone was there, except Sora of course, but we'd been told that she'd be coming. Yamato was there with his new girlfriend, of course, by then she wasn't his _new_ girlfriend. Michael and Tatum were there and they had Louisa with them, Willis came with them, and Mari came with Hideto and Kiyoko a little while after them. Neo came alone, since he didn't have anybody special, and Koushiro and Mimi brought Makoto, Takeru and Hikari had Tenshi with them, and Hikari was pregnant with Hiro. Taichi brought Rei. Jou had Momoe, Emiko and Renjiro, Iori, Natsuni and Kana were there too. Miyako and I had brought Mai and Osamu of course. Daisuke and Kurayami were there too, with Haruki. Was that everybody? I think so. I do know that Agumon was having a party of his own, and had invited all of the digimon partners over to Taichi's house. I didn't envy him. Twenty-five grown digimon and the kid's ten. It was bound to be a full house. I know Taichi was prepared to hire a cleaning crew if he needed to. Anyway, we were there for some reason or other, waiting on Sora. But she came late—I remember that much—

* * *

"Okay. Yeah," Louisa said. "You're not telling this story. Daaaad... Can you take over? Pretty-please?"

"I guess," Michael said.

I'd never been so happy to hear a kid whine in my life.

**Next Time on Happily Ever After:** Ken's story is doononneee oooooooooOOOOOoooooh. What? no it isn't? oh. okay. Also Michael is next.


	8. Beauty and the Douche

**Y/N: **I like Michael. He was only added because we needed someone we could hate on, instead of Daisuke. And now he is one of the characters with the most growth...ever.

**U/N: **Thiiiiis is a chapter that I wroooote and I am singing this authors note as I write it. And cooking also. I don't like cooking. I am bad at it. Now, this is the only chapter in the back half of the story that I wrote, and I would just like to quickly point out that I wrote this the day chapter seven was finished. Same day. This late update is NOT on my head. Just once again. This isn't my fault. Michael's chapter used to be for chapter 2, and so I actually had to write two Michael chapters, but oh well, I like Michael anyway. This chapter is cool? Fine I guess. Don't remember it in the slightest xD But Louisa and Elliot I'm sure are in it and I really like them, so yeah.

**Title: Happily Ever After**

**By: Yukiraking**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters**

**Chapter 8: Beauty and the Douche**

_**Michael Washington: 8:15 pm**_

I checked my watch, it was a quarter after eight o'clock already, and I could see the eyelids begin to droop on some of the smaller kids. Even the oldest, Haruki and Mai seemed less outgoing than usual. Oh to be young again. They were all so cute, getting tired so early in the night. But I knew they'd never go to sleep until this story was over, and as old as Elliot sometimes inadvertently convinced me he was, he was only seven years old, and there was no way I was going to be putting up with a cranky kid tomorrow.

I'd just have to finish the story quickly, that's all.

I cleared my throat, readying the tale and was trying to ignore the pleading and yet daring look Elliot was giving me. He wanted me to outshine Ken, which wasn't going to be too hard really, but also Taichi, and as boring as Elliot found the story, I didn't really find it that boring at all—what if the stories I had to tell were equally boring? I mean, I knew Elliot wouldn't ever tell me he was disappointed in me, he wasn't that kind of kid, and he probably wouldn't be too upset were he to be made fun of because of me, but even so, he definitely wanted me to make this good. And if his furrowed brow and tight lips weren't enough of an indication, the white colour of his knuckles as he gripped Chapmon firmly definitely was.

Louisa on the other hand was smiling politely at me, just waiting for me to begin, her hair draped over one shoulder as she and her Hopmon sat as calm as ever right next to my own Betamon who Louisa was leaning on for support.

"Alright..." I said slowly, "Okay." I flicked my eyes around again, this time to Haruki who was sitting with Mai, leaning against the picnic table, with their digimon both in Haruki's lap as Mai needed space for her arms to move as she wrote down everything. "I'll start now..." Chika was laying on her back, staring up at the clouds, muttering to Motimon. Was she even listening to any of these stories? Probably not. Shouta wasn't anymore either. His eyes were just barely open, and the grip he had on Sora's arm was faltering. Tsunomon was already in a deep sleep, making unattractive bubbling sounds. "Yep... going to start..." Aika and Osamu were sitting together, both of their digimon sitting elsewhere, around Taichi's feet with Nikko's Koromon. Nikko however was sitting in his father's lap again. Makoto was pretending to not be interested in what Chika was pointing at, but I could see his attention being drawn to her instead of me, but that was probably because I wasn't saying anything. "So my story..." Instead of starting, this time I looked to Kana and Renjiro, both of whom were sitting a little off from the group, again, but at least they were still paying attention this time. They were holding each other's digimon which was kind of cute. Hiro and Tenshi were leaning against one another's backs, their sides facing me, while Tokomon and Salamon were both perked up and ready to listen to my story.

But instead of telling a story, I wanted one in return. "First," I said slowly. "Why don't you kids tell _us_ a story."

"No," Elliot said, "That's a terrible idea. Just tell the story dad."

"Well I have a specific one in mind though," I said, disregarding my son's warnings. "I just want to know," I slowly raised my finger to Tenshi, "Why your digimon is a rookie but every other kid here has an in-training only." Tenshi looked down to Salamon and smirked. "I mean, Mai and Haruki are older than you by like, four years. Why did you get a rookie?"

"Salamon has a temper problem." Tenshi giggled.

"I do _not_!" Salamon insisted, "Really! I don't!"

"No," Tenshi said, "I don't know, we were just walking one day and a mean old Numamon came along, and then Nyaromon digivolved to protect Hiro and I."

"But I wasn't strong enough." Tokomon said as if this fact was really what had saved them that day.

"I see." I said with a smile. "Okay, I'm content." I looked to see Izumi sitting in her dad's arms. Hideto—gotta be more specific there. Her Demimeramon was laying in the grass at Hideto's feet, his flames less lively and bright as he slowly fell into a sleep. "Right... my story..." I saw Iris and Madlyn—

"Just tell the story, please." Nikko almost begged.

"Okay..." I sighed, but I wasn't really sure what to tell.

"The party thing...?" Mai prompted.

"Right!" I shouted, clapping my hands together, startling Shouta awake. "So we were celebrating the end of time as we were all to know it."

"What?" Nikko asked. "That doesn't even make sense."

"The world was ending," I explained.

"No, it wasn't." Nikko argued.

"I'm trying to tell a story." I retorted.

"Yes, and your story sounds amazing, but if the world was really ending than we'd have already heard the story. So move on." Nikko said firmly.

"You haven't heard this story," I told him, "Well I don't think so... but no, the world really was ending. For Mimi anyway."

* * *

"This is it." Mimi said, her lips tight and her eyes shining. She was bobbing her head around in attempts to not cry, pretending she was okay, but it was clear she was not. Her voice was so airy and shaky, "In six hours I'll be... well I may as well be dead!" She very nearly lost it then, but she caught hold of herself and took a deep breath.

"Mimi," I told her calmly. "Look, everyone is waiting inside for you, it's time you just walked in the door and let it happen."

"What if we run away together and never look back?" Mimi asked. "We could just pretend forever that life is endless! We could just be... what if I use one of the keys?" She shouted suddenly, "I'm sure one of them has the cure to this deadly illness."

"What illness would that be?" I asked laughing, but she didn't listen.

"But first I need to break into my own house without anyone noticing me, steal my baby and leave." Mimi began planning for her escape plan, and I couldn't help but laugh. "Makoto would never be able to love truly if he was raised by just Koushiro. I mean, a boy needs his father, but a mother's love is really what sets it over the edge, you know? Of course I'll miss Koushiro, but if Sora can leave for a year here and six years there, then I can leave too right? Forever?"

"Mimi," I tried desperately to calm her because her words were coming out faster and less clear, and she was close to another panic attack.

"What about Palmon?" Mimi asked suddenly, "Oh I'll have to take her—and of course you'll be taking Betamon and Louisa right? Oh and I know you and Tatum just got married but I'm sure she'll understand if we leave her a note explaining the situation, right? Of course it'll have to be in your handwriting, she'd never believe it if it was written in my messy handwriting, didn't you take like six different calligraphy courses?"

"I did," I managed to fit in.

"Oh, how romantic!" Mimi spluttered, "She'll be so sad, but she'll have that letter, written so beautifully to hold on to for all of time, and she'll forever be in love with the one who got away."

"The one who stole her baby more like," I joked.

"Oh good, you're still on board, I was afraid I lost you back at the kidnapping." Mimi said, now excited.

"MIMI!" I said loudly, "I know it's hard, but you just need to open the door."

"Right." She nodded, "To get Makoto. I'll distract them." She nodded. And I guess she was so caught up in her ridiculous plan because she confidently strode towards the newly refurbished porch at the front of her house, practically glided up the stairs and grabbed the door, throwing it open.

From inside there was a deafening "SURPRISE!" And over Mimi's head I could see a banner that read '_Happy 30th Birthday Mimi_'

And then Mimi fell to her knees in tears, "I don't want to be _old_!" She shrieked, her hands in her hair, "Please! No!"

* * *

Slowly every eye turned to Mimi whose face was bright red, but she was busying herself with a very interesting leaf on the ground. "Look, okay?" She asked when she couldn't take the silence anymore, "it was a big deal."

"Apparently..." Makoto said very quietly.

* * *

After a while though, Mimi calmed down, which was great because I wasn't sure I was going to be able to calm her down alone—I totally understood where she was coming from after all. Being thirty had never been something I'd been looking forward to myself.

Mimi's party was the second worst one she had ever had, right next to the one where she forced everyone into her "We Hate Sora" club, and threw out the cake Sora had made for her. This one was bad, but not on that extreme level. She stopped crying for like, the next five hours, and we played all sorts of games, but it wasn't the same as it used to be. There were nine children here already. Nine! Emiko was obviously the oldest, she was ten by this point. Haruki and Mai were both four already, which was super cute of them. They were just getting to the point where they were human beings, but clumsy and with loads of baby fat. And if they were cute, then Renjiro and Kana, who were both three, were adorable. They were pathetic—they were walking and running and giggling, and basically spluttering out pointless sentences that I could only sort of understand. Tenshi was one, and was learning to stand, but spent most of his time grinning and waving his hands up and down while bouncing, which was also cute. Makoto and Osamu were both under a year old, and were so cute too—all bundled up in a blanket.

And LOUISA!

* * *

"Let me guess," Kana said, "She was cute?"

"Yes." I smiled, "You were _all_ cute."

"So I heard," Kana smiled politely.

* * *

Anyway, so my super adorable two year old bumbling jellybean of a daughter was stumbling around like a fool with her entourage of children just kept interrupting our games. I mean how was I supposed to own every place on the board of monopoly if I kept missing my turn because Haruki pushed Louisa over. How was I supposed to win anything at all if Louisa kept cheating in patty-cake... which I didn't even know was possible. Having kids was hard.

And since it was Tuesday, it was my job to take care of Louisa, and Tatum was having the time of her life watching me and laughing with her friends. She'd become close with Rei, Natsuni and Momoe.

Yamato was sitting with his new girlfriend. Either that or walking around with her, or helping her get some food, or holding open the bathroom door for her—he wouldn't leave her side. It was disgusting—and not that cute kind of disgusting that was Takeru and Hikari, it was just annoying.

"He's so annoying." Takeru said under his breath before turning back to his obnoxiously round wife.

* * *

"Uhm... rude?" Hikari said, hopefully joking.

"You were pregnant, that's basically all pregnant women are, is round and usually cranky." I told her receiving so many different glares.

"That is so insensitive!" Kurayami practically bellowed, "You know what Michael Washington, we are no longer friends!"

"Then how will I fuse with Labramon?" Betamon shouted in horror.

"We haven't done that since the fight with Yggdrasil anyway," Labramon informed him. "It hasn't been needed."

"Look," I said, ready to fix what I'd broken, "pregnant women are the only thing keeping the human race going, really, and that's a lot of stress, I don't blame them for being cranky. They are so strong and needed for our survival."

"Aww," Kuayami cooed, "That is so sweet!"

"I thought so." I said proudly.

* * *

"So when's the due date?" Tatum asked, leaning over to Hikari.

"Two months from now," Hikari smiled perfectly.

See, what's important to know here is that when people say that pregnant women glow, they're lying, hoping that the woman won't yell at them. But that wasn't the case with Hikari.

Her smile was so genuine and calm and kind, and her eyes were shining and focused. She looked rested and happy. It wasn't right. When Tatum asked if she was getting any of those horrible rashes that pregnant women get, Hikari happily lifted her shirt to show her beautiful, unblemished baby belly. She informed us all that she was in no pain, and her baby was so kind. Which was hard to prove, but I believed her anyway. But above all of that... Hikari was glowing.

And I mean, _glowing_.

She was literally glowing. As in there was light radiating from her body. Not too much to blind you, in fact it was barely noticeable, but if you looked long enough you could see a sheet of pale pink light radiating around her. I always meant to ask Takeru how he slept with a glowing wife but never gathered the courage.

* * *

"Hey Takeru," Taichi interrupted, "How did you sleep with a glowing wife?"

"Mask." Takeru said simply, covering his eyes with his hands. A couple of the kids laughed, and Tenshi and Hiro looked to their mother with that same dazzling smile she always had plastered on her face.

* * *

Anyway, we were all sort of waiting for the inevitable breakdown of Mimi when the exact time of her birth came to be. The time that she would officially have outgrown her twenties and lived into her thirties. The big moment.

But, the breakdown didn't happen, because with only thirteen minutes and twelve seconds to go, there was a knock on the door.

"I hope it's an executioner." Mimi said, "That way, on my grave it can read 'Mimi Tachikawa, beautiful heroin extraordinaire, died beautiful and young.'" No one laughed except for Emiko who found it hilarious, which actually, for some odd reason seemed to cheer Mimi up quite a lot. But it was nothing compared to what happened next.

She opened the door and screamed so loudly that all of the children jumped in fear, cried, or hid out of sheer terror.

"Sora!" Mimi said through her scream, she was jumping up and down fanning herself and giggling like a little school girl, and then suddenly it was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on her head because everything became very silent as the door creaked open to reveal Sora, standing beautifully as always. But as the door creaked open even more there was a man standing next to her. A man in a grey suit, with a navy shirt and a coral blue tie. But it wasn't a bad coral blue, it was like a nice one—one that matched his skin tone—

* * *

"Dad." Elliot said warningly.

"Sorry."

* * *

He was wearing some blue tie. I couldn't be bothered to know what colour of blue it was or if it went with his eyes hair and skin tone—which it did.

"Who are you?" Mimi asked as if she was the mean girl from some movie made in the eighties, chewing gum.

"My name is Mr Douchery." He said kindly, kissing Mimi's hand.

* * *

"His name—" Sora tried.

"Nah," Yamato interrupted, "I'm pretty sure Michael got his name right. That was his last name, right?" Everyone agreed. "See?" Yamato said to Sora, "And his first name was Douche. Douche Douchery."

"Douche?" Shouta asked groggily.

"No, don't say that!" Sora insisted, embarrassed.

"Well that's his name." I told her with a grin.

"Oh no it is not—"

* * *

"Oh," Mimi said, faking embarrassment, "Mr Douchery, how wonderful it is to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise," He said seductively as he stepped into the house.

"Now why are you here?" Mimi asked boldly. "This party is for people I like." She said firmly. "And Yamato's girlfriend." Everyone turned to see her reaction but thankfully she was in the bathroom, so all eyes landed on Yamato instead who just crossed his arms like a child.

"Sora invited me." Douche said. Mimi turned her head to Sora as Douche Douchery was pacing around Mimi's living room, examining her art, and snow globes and anything else he could find.

"He's my boyfriend." Sora smiled, trying to be proud.

Douche turned and made a modelling pose, "Now, I know what you're thinking, where did I get my hair done?" He ran his fingers through his perfect hair, "It's a secret, but it does look beautiful does it not?" He then made another presumptuous pose. "If not that, you're probably wanting to ask me '_where did you get your wonderful suit_?'" He looked around excitedly waiting for someone to ask, but the room was entirely silent until Kiyoko shot a quick "Where did you get your suit?" Douche clapped his hands together and grinned, "I'm glad you asked little girl. It is handmade. Made from silk from all corners of the world. It cost me a fortune."

"It looks stupid." Emiko said bluntly from her place on the floor where she was rolling her brother around.

"You tasteless girl." Douche said.

"Okay—" Jou said quickly, but he was interrupted.

"This is... sweet." Douche said holding up a clay slate with Makoto's hand prints pressed into it. "Your summer home is nice."

"No, this is our actual home." Koushiro said mindlessly as he scooped all of the poker chips over to himself, he was winning. Again, he won every game always.

"Oh," Douche said, pursing his lips. "How... primitive." He slowly, setting Makoto's handprints down again.

I turned to see Mimi's head tilted sideways, her eyes bulging and her mouth hanging open slightly. I'd only ever seen this look twice before. Once not too long ago when the doctor told her she had to go home and wait until her contractions were far enough apart before she went into labour. That ended with the doctor on the ground and Mimi sitting on his chest asking him to take the baby out of her body. And first time I'd ever seen it was in 2007. I had just come back to see everyone off on their way back to Japan from New York, and Mimi got mad at me and—

* * *

"She punched you!" Yamato said, laughing loudly, "Still so funny."

I glared at him.

* * *

So I knew this wasn't going to end well.

"Mimi!" I said suddenly, "Makoto is on fire!" Mimi blinked and looked in a panic to her baby and rushed over to him, and relaxed suddenly. "Did uncle Michael put the fire out? He saved your life?" She asked the baby, hugging him tightly and rocking him back and forth, "He's such a good boy, yes he is!"

Taichi smiled to Sora who was fixing her hair in the doorway after having closed the door. He then turned to Douche and stood up, holding his hand out to shake it.

"Yes I see you have all five of your fingers." Douche said, "Contrats lumberjack!" he waved his hands in mock celebration and then awkwardly patted Taichi's shoulder which was followed by several uncomfortable seconds where Douche stood still and looked around him in a near panic. "Sora—sanitizer!"

"Oh!" Sora jumped and reached to her red bag and pulled out a bottle of sanitizer and rushed over to her douchey boyfriend and squirted some sanitizer into his hand. He sighed dramatically in relief and patted Sora on the shoulder and made direct eye contact.

"Thank you sweet heart." He said boldly. He turned to the rest of us and said, "You may have noticed my eye contact."

"Hard to miss." Iori said coldly, without looking away from the game he, Yamato, Taichi and Koushiro were playing.

"I make eye contact," Douche said, moving his arms and head around as if floating, "Because I am civilized, it creates a connection between two individuals. You can read all about it in my book. You can buy it in any of the more regal bookstores around the country."

"Oh, you wrote a book?" Taichi asked, trying to be polite, "What's it about?"

"I'm glad you asked." Douche said, pushing past Sora and gliding to a place more easily seen by everyone in the room, "It's a book about overcoming adversity. It's a book about how _I_, Douche Douchery, got out of a home that didn't support my dreams. Did you know my parents docked my allowance because I refused to make a living on my own? Isn't that horrible? And they bought me not three—but only _two_ ponies for my sixth birthday party! And, as if that wasn't enough, they had a _baby_! They cared not enough about me to be content with just one child, but they had to have _another_. Oh the shame! Do you know what that was like for me—"

A door opened and Yamato's girlfriend stepped into the room, straightening her shirt.

"Who is this?" Douche asked, trying to stay calm but there was something unsettling beneath his eyes.

"My girlfriend," Yamato said slowly.

"Why didn't she welcome me into this... uh, home?" Douche said.

Yamato's girlfriend pointed over her shoulder with her thumb and raised her eyebrows. "I was peeing."

"Anyway," Miyako said, "Look, your book is probably great, but we should probably get Mimi's cake out. It's time."

Mimi suddenly looked dizzy enough to drop her baby as her arms relaxed and she looked ready to faint. I stood quickly and caught her, Tatum doing the same, but taking Makoto from her instead.

Miyako was gone a moment later with some of the others to get the cake as Tatum, Rei, Natsuni and Momoe tried to wake Mimi up.

"So how was your year off?" Taichi asked, making conversation.

"Great," Sora said with a soft smile, "I, uh..." She looked over her shoulder to Douche and then back to Taichi, "Yeah, never mind. What about you?"

"Well, you know," Taichi said, "Same old, same old. I missed you though—oh, and Rei—okay I have to ask you something."

Sora looked taken aback, "Yes, of course, anything?"

"Why are you sitting like that?" Taichi asked.

"Like what?" Sora asked.

"Like the chair is made of a pile of Numamon poo." Koushiro informed her out of character, again without really looking to her. I did though. I looked to her, and they were both right. She was sitting so straight and well mannered, not that it was an issue, but it was certainly against how Sora usually acted.

"Here it is!" Mari shouted, coming through the doorway, with Daisuke and Willis, leading the way for Miyako who was holding the most bizarrely shaped cake I'd ever seen. It was sort of round, but not really, and there were thirty candles sticking out of it, some looping, some small and straight—others shaped as numbers. The outside of the cake was lined with broken cookies, and the icing was messily applied. Miyako wasn't the best baker in the world.

* * *

"You know what though?" Miyako dared with a grin, pointing to me with the hand that wasn't holding her sleeping baby. "I got better."

"Yeah..." Ken tried to agree.

* * *

"What is _that_?" Douche asked aghast.

"It's a cake." Miyako said, "It's for Mimi's birthday, and I worked really hard on it."

"It's ghastly." Douche said. Miyako looked hurt instantly, and looked down to the cake. "If one of my servants produced something like this I might actually have them executed!" Douche laughed at his... well hopefully it was a joke. "It looks like that horrible creature we saw the other day! Doesn't it Sora?" Douche looked to Sora who was blatently ignoring all of reality at that moment. "That creature. The digi... mon." He shuttered, "Ooh, even the word gives me the heebie jeebies. Of course when I'm elected as Prime Minister I'll be sure to banish them back to the land that they came from." He was laughing again.

I saw Mimi make the head tilted, eyes widened and mouth open face for the fourth time then, and she looked ready to kill, but instead she straightened out her little pink dress and turned to Miyako, "I'm so sorry, I don't mean to replay past events and I hope this doesn't hurt your feelings."

"Oh, no." Miyako said, handing over the cake, "Please. Be my guest. Should we light it first?"

Mimi looked convinced for a moment, but decided against it. "No time." She spun around and screamed a horrid battle cry as she lunged toward Douche and shoved the cake full into this face. The cake was really hard and heavy though so he fell over along with Mimi who landed on top of him and shoved the cake further into his mouth.

"Mimi!" Hideto shouted. She stopped and looked back to us all, every one of us was crowded around her with a horrified look on her face. "You missed a spot."

"RRAAAUUUUGHH!" Mimi screamed, wiping the cake all over Douche's expensive suit.

"Can I murder our new guest too?" Emiko asked. Jou laughed, which got him an elbow to the gut from Momoe who then grabbed Emiko's hand to make sure she didn't do anything she'd regret.

"This. Is. The. Best. Birthday. Ever." Mimi said each word punctuated dramatically. After that Koushiro and Jou pulled Mimi off of Douche, while Taichi and Hideto helped him to his feet. He stood in the doorway for a few seconds before wiping the cake off of his face. "I'm leaving." He said thickly. "And I encourage you to do the same Sora. Get away from these Neanderthals."

Sora moved to his side quickly and opened the door for him. Sora looked around, angry at us all and then when Douche exited Sora laughed, and it was unmistakable, but she tried to hide it, and then she was gone, closing the door.

The rest of us caught Sora's laughing bug and began laughing hysterically at the scene that had just played out because truly, it was funny.

After that we mostly played with the babies for the rest of the night, and talked about why Sora would be dating such an awful man.

"He's pretty." I said, "That's probably why. She'll want her six kids to be beautiful."

"No one wants six kids," Tatum said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

I held up our gooshy daughter and smiled, "Are you sure you don't want six kids?"

* * *

"Dad?" Elliot cut in, "Seriously. I don't care about this."

"You should." Louisa snarled, "This is about _me_, your sister, and how when they had me they realized that they didn't need too many more kids because I deserved _all_ of their love."

"No, they decided to have me because you were a baby." Elliot snapped.

"As if that was my fault." Louisa argued.

"I mean, like, a baby in personality—like a crying wimp, not a baby-baby." Elliot explained.

"I know what you meant Elliot! And they only had you because they knew I needed someone to look after because I was so mature for a child."

"Actually they had me because Second Is Best." Elliot declared, "They took one look at you and said 'yeeesh, better try again.'" Elliot laughed at himself, so I decided to end the argument.

"We decided to not have any more than the two of you because your mother won't let me have four more children." I said, "Louisa you were a beautiful baby, Elliot, you were a loud one. The end. Back to the story?"

"Fine," Elliot agreed, "As long as you get on with the _point_ of the story."

"You want to hear a love story?" Haruki asked, straightening the goggles on his head. The other boys chuckled, and Elliot shook his head vigorously.

"No!" He shouted, "I just want the story to be over so I can play."

I decided that was a good time to continue.

"Well we didn't see Sora for a while after that. It was a few months actually. She showed up to see Hiro, but only while Takeru and Hikari were there, she didn't want to run into too many of us, but then the day came when finally she agreed to come to a get together. This one was in August of course, August first, eight years ago today."

* * *

"I don't know why Rei can't just leave me alone." Neo muttered. "I mean its one thing for my friends to every now and then be like 'hey, are you seeing anyone?' but for Rei to ask every single day is getting a little out of hand."

We were walking down the street from the Inoue Convenience Store, arms full of groceries on our way to the Digital Gate in order to celebrate. Tatum was already there with Louisa, and at the last minute I received a text message from Mimi telling me to meet Neo on my way to help him out. So there I was. Helping out Neo.

* * *

All eyes turned to Neo who was still unconscious.

"Should we maybe do something?" Azura asked.

"I've got an idea..." Emiko said slowly. She reached down and picked up one of the dented water bottles that Monmon had been pelting Ken with and opened it before preparing to dump it on him. She froze momentarily, and dumped some on his pants first, which effectively made it look like he peed himself, and then poured the rest on his face.

He sat bolt upright and then shouted out, clutching his head. "Oh my lord. What happened?"

"Long story." Mai said, "We don't have time though, it's a quarter to nine—what if this story doesn't get finished? We'll have to wait an entire year, so you can wait."

"Here's some ice." Elliot said, reaching into the overturned cooler and chucking a handful of ice over the heads of the people around him, hitting Neo in the stomach.

"Gee, thanks." He said, but he winced, holding his head.

"Anyway," I continued.

* * *

We were walking to the gate when we happened upon something that only ever happens in television shows, and you know, being me, for a second I thought we were in one. But Neo was quicker.

There was a woman ahead of us wearing a black dress and heels with long brown hair whose bag was being pulled away from her and she was holding on with all of her might trying desperately to not let the man have whatever was inside. The groceries Neo had been hanging on to were falling out of the bags as he had dropped them and was already standing next to the man holding the purse who suddenly looked very nervous.

"Are you familiar with digimon?" Neo asked him.

"Shut up and get out of here before I shoot you!" The man shouted.

"And the digital world?" Neo ignored him, "Well one time I destroyed that world. Yeah I can do that. Now though, I work there, and I have a team of elite digimon who are trained in tracking and destroying villains. And I've just got the approval I need to extend our range not just to the Digital World, but to Earth as well. I recommend you let go of the purse." He said the last words to the girl, but the man didn't notice.

The woman obliged and released her bag, causing the man to fall backwards, releasing the bag in hopes that he could catch his footing. Neo caught the bag as the man fell to the concrete. Neo then handed the bag back to its rightful owner and then turned to the man who was stumbling to his feet in his attempt to retreat.

I set my bags down and applauded, but Neo and the girl ignored me. She was super pretty though. That was hard to ignore. She was as tall as Neo, but she was wearing heels, so I suppose she was a bit shorter—she was fashionable in a modern sense of the word, and she was just... well, beautiful.

"Nice to see you again, sir." The woman said, brushing her shining silky hair over her shoulder.

"You remember me?" Neo asked.

"I can't imagine too many humans tried to destroy the Digital World." She said with a wink.

"You'd be surprised." I said as the two of them came toward the fallen groceries, and toward me, but they both ignored me. Or just didn't hear me more like. They were pretty caught up with each other.

"Neo," She said softly, "Right?"

"Yeah," Neo nodded coolly, putting his hands in the pocket of his black coat. "And you're Evelen."

"You've been thinking about me." Evelen smiled. Since I was invisible to them anyway I took the moment to get a closer look at her. Her eyebrows were perfectly shaped, her eyes were round and big and beautifully brown, her skin was flawless without any makeup at all—besides her eyeliner that was winged—and get this. It was even on both sides.

* * *

"Really?" Momoe interrupted, "See because I can never get it right!"

"Yeah, she was perfect. That's what I mean." I told her.

* * *

"Well no one has ever made such an impression on me in such a short space of time." Neo said nonchalantly, looking off to the distance as if there was someplace else he'd rather be. But all three of us knew it wasn't true. He'd be _insane_ not to want to be in her presence. It's like she was the Goddess of love talking to her peasant.

* * *

Tatum cleared her throat at the same time as Neo gave me a dirty look, so I continued.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Neo asked, "You look sad."

"Oh, I just broke up with my boyfriend." She said with a shrug, "No big deal really. He was cheating on me. I just want a guy who can make a commitment."

"Neo makes commitments." I offered, having fun with being invisible, but this time she looked to me, and I felt like I should be like, bowing or something, but instead I just froze as she smiled at me.

"Do you want to get some coffee, Neo?" Evelen asked. "I helped you out once, and now you've helped me. It's suspicious isn't it? I think we should get to know each other better."

"Yeah sure!" Neo said suddenly excited, "Rei's always telling me I need more friends." Evelen's smile faltered but only for a second. She hadn't meant friendship, but I was sure Neo would understand that someday. Maybe too late though.

"We could drop your groceries off first?" Evelen asked.

"Oh, you meant right now?" Neo asked, "See I can't actually do that. See I promised my sister I'd come to this lame get together thing for her friends. Maybe another time?" Neo was trying to play it cool, and was succeeding mostly, as he picked up the groceries.

"Absolutely." She said quietly, Neo smiled and was off again.

"I'm so sorry." I said to her. "He's apparently oblivious."

"Don't be." She said smiling. "You were right though." She turned away, "He does stick to his commitments."

* * *

"Seriously, if you don't go right now, find that girl and marry her I'll bite you." Louisa said sharply, "It's so cute and important for your happiness."

"Louisa!" I tried to scold her, but I knew she was joking so really, there wasn't much to be said.

* * *

I was running after Neo right after that, but he was already around the corner, and when I turned the corner I saw Sora walking into the computer store with Neo holding the door open. I rushed to get in before Neo closed it on me and followed Sora inside. We moved to the designated computer for travelling, the one with the rug in front of it and pulled out our digivices. The three of us were in the temple before we knew it.

"So," Sora said brightly, "How have you two been?"

"Good," Neo said dreamily. Sora raised her eyebrows suspiciously but didn't press into his mood.

"I'm great." I told her, "The pilot of our show is airing in a month."

"Oh, really?" Sora squeaked, "That's so exciting, who did they get to play me?"

"Oh just a girl—she looks a lot like you though." I confirmed. "And she does a good job. It's the one who plays Takeru you've got to watch out for. Real diva right there."

"Really?" Sora gasped.

"No, I'm just kidding, they're all such good kids." I told her with a laugh. She smiled and soon we were out of the temple and on our way to Taichi's house.

* * *

"And you kept walking and walking." Osamu groaned.

"And you said a bunch of boring things..." Nikko added.

"And then you probably played games, maybe with the babies?" Makoto questioned.

"The night was coming to a close before something interesting was happening I bet." Haruhiko guessed.

"And even that wasn't interesting. But at least relevant to the plot I hope." Elliot said, rolling his eyes.

"That is so completely accurate." I said in a scolding voice. "Anyway—"

"Wait!" Hiro shouted, "Before you continue... please... someone feed me."

"We can't." Takeru said, "All the food was thrown around." Hiro looked around helplessly and found a pile of mashed potatoes on the ground not too far from the group.

"Can I eat this?"

"No." Everyone said as one.

"Can we actually have a few minutes of a break?" Mari asked, "These girls want to hear a bedtime story."

"Okay, yeah." Mai permitted as if it were her choice, "We'll have a fifteen minute break. That'll take us to exactly nine o'clock then we can round this day off with a nice closure storyline, how does that sound everybody?"

Everyone murmured their agreement and went their separate ways.

"Dad," Louisa said as Elliot poked her in the face again and again. "Can you tell us a story while we wait for the rest of the story?"

"Uh," I nodded, "Sure?"

* * *

"So, we're engaged," I told Willis when I entered our home.

"I know," Willis laughed, "I was there with you."

"Yeah I know," I said, "but the deal was always that Tatum and I would move out when we get married, so this will be out last few months of living together." I closed the door and tossed my shoes in the shoe closet that was supposed to be organized but never was because Jenna had too many shoes.

"But my life will be so boring." Willis gasped. "Stay here. Please."

"Willis," I laughed, "You have Terriermon and Lopmon still. And you know... Jenna's never moving out, so you'll still have her and Kudamon. And Mari _does_ visit an awful lot."

"I know, I know." He sighed, "but like. She doesn't _live_ here, which is annoying."

"She just visits for long periods of time once a month." I said nodding, which is pretty good if you ask me."

"You hate me." Willis nodded as if he'd just decoded the mystery. "Yep. That's it. You hate me. You hate me and you want me dead. Then you'll take my home."

"Willis," I said firmly. "That's just not true. I love you. You're my brother, that's an amazing bond we've shared for like seven or eight years. That's awesome. But I have to move out now. I'm super rich and there is no reason why I shouldn't be buying that giant house right across the road from here from that old lady."

"Ooh I like that plan that's a good plan." Willis said quickly. "Wanna know whyyyy?"

"Because we can both buy cannons and shoot water balloons out of them and have a cross street war. Duh." I said just as quickly.

"Exactly!" Willis said, rubbing his hands together, "This plan will be good, a good plan."

* * *

"That was never a good plan." Louisa said, "I've never been much of a fan of this plan."

"You're just jealous because Uncle Willis and I always beat you and _Dad_." Elliot mocked.

"Well if you weren't such a traitor you and I could both be winners." Louisa said brightly.

"I want you to lose though, that's why I got myself off of Dad's team as soon as was possible." Elliot looked to me as if to say 'sorry/not sorry'.

* * *

Mari then came bursting into the room from the glass doors opposite the front door from the back yard. She was smiling, she ran across the room and leapt into Willis' arms and hugged him tightly.

"When did you get here?" Willis asked excitedly.

"Yesterday," Mari said, pulling away. "You didn't know?"

"No."

"You need a smaller house," Mari said, still smiling, "listen though—the channel liked Katsue and I, we might be actually getting our own show. The idea's been pitched and they loved it! Are you listening to me?" Mari shouted, shaking Willis back and forth. "I'm going to be happy!" She froze for a moment and cleared her throat, "I mean that I'm going to be employed."

"I know what you meant." Willis said, "Mari I'm so proud of you. You've spent so much time focusing on yourself, and you've done everything you've ever wanted to do."

"Not true." Mari said pulling out a piece of paper from behind her back and holding it up. "I've gone skydiving, dyed my hair a funny colour—yeeesh, wasn't that just a bad idea? I've... uh—oh, I've worked in a restaurant—ironically linked, I've been fired—"

"You wanted to be fired?" I asked.

"Yeah, all part of the plan," She smiled, "I've gone to college, passed every class... got a degree I don't really need... maintained six different jobs at one time—that one hardly counts because that didn't last long, but it was awesome. I've helped people, and I've pinpointed my true dream, and now that it's coming true there's only one thing left on the list!"

"What's that?" I asked, looking to the list.

"It's... a long story." Mari said. She looked to Willis and her face turned red. "Anyway, Willis, do you want to go do something fun?"

"How about to see Michael's new baby?" Willis suggested.

"Tatum had the baby?" Mari asked with a tinge of jealousy. "That's wonderful!" She looked to Willis and it seemed like a brick wall had completely built itself between the two of them. She then nodded and headed to the door, "Let's go see the baby!"

"Well I have to get the camera first, but I'll meet you guys in the car." I smiled to her. She smiled back but when her eyes flicked back to Willis she sighed.

* * *

"More!" Izumi shouted when I finished the story.

"Again!" Iris and Madlyn shouted.

"Okay," Mari nodded, "Hmm, let's think..." She nodded when she had the perfect story. "Once upon a time," I heard Mari said to the three girls laying in a bed made of blankets that Hideto and Kiyoko had created. Izumi was in between the twins. "There was a princess!" The girls oooh'ed and ahh'd "She was locked in a tall tower by a mean, mean man, and he had a dragon guarding her. She felt sad at first, but realized that she didn't want to be in that bad situation. So do you know what she did?"

"What?" The girls chorused.

"She marched out of that tower and punched the dragon in the nose!" Mari said excitedly, "The dragon was so impressed with her strength that he joined her side, and she flew the dragon all the way to the other tower in the castle and leapt through the window where the mean man lived and she pushed him out the window and took his crown becoming the queen of the land."

"Yay!" The girls cheered.

"Then, the next day, a prince came to save her! And he came in ready to slay the dragon, but she stopped him because the dragon was her friend. Then the prince said "I've come to save thee fair maiden," And do you know what she said?"

Iris slurred some words together while Madlyn snapped her fingers.

"That's right," Mari nodded, "She said "I don't need no man." And then she sent the prince away for thinking she was weak, because she was not. She was a strong independent woman who was ready to take the world by storm."

"Hurray!" The girls cheered once more.

"Now go to sleep okay?" Mari said to them, patting each of their heads. "Babysitting is easy." She said when she stood and walked off, leaving the girls there to fall asleep. Mari seemed happy now, and it seemed obvious to me now that the last thing on her list was just that—to be happy. But sometimes I found that she had too hard of a life.

"Dad," Louisa said, "Why do you think Emiko is pregnant?"

Rei, who was sitting next to me snorted into her drink. I envied her for finding something salvageable in the wreckage.

"Why do... _you_... think she is?" I tried hopefully.

"Dad I'm not a kid anymore." Louisa said, her face flushing quickly. "The love fairy goes around and collects the excess love, keeps it in a jar and brings it back to his palace where he compresses it and turns it into a child. The child is then given to a magical stork who places the baby inside the girl, and then BAM! She's pregnant."

"Okay, good because that's exactly what happens." I told her, "I just wanted to make sure you were aware—don't want you being made fun of."

"That makes no sense." Betamon interjected.

"You're a talking sea creature that can grow in size to become a beast of mass destruction—don't question baby logic." I said quickly. Betamon raised one eyebrow and then nodded.

"You're right." He said, "I wonder why babies don't hatch from eggs..." And then Betamon was off in his own world trying to figure out human reproduction, so I turned back to my daughter.

"And you don't need a baby." I said.

"What?" Louisa gasped, "I never said I wanted a baby!" I gave her the look and she sighed, "I know, I know," Louisa said, "because I've got Elliot." She used air quotes around her words because it's what Tatum and I always told her. "But he's stupid and a boy! I don't want a boy!"

"Well you know," Tatum said, creeping up on us. "There's a fifty percent chance you'll have a boy. I think you'll have to wait for a time when you actually like boys."

"And even longer." I agreed. "Until you're thirty."

"Dad!" Louisa argued, "I want one when I'm Emiko's age!"

"If you're ready for a baby then that is your choice." Tatum said, "Emiko is eighteen years old and she is an adult. She is old enough now to take care of a child, just as Momoe was when she was her age."

"Jou was a doctor though, they had more money." Rei filled in.

"Actually, Jou was still paying off both veterinarian college and his medical college, and you see, that means they were virtually dirt poor." Tatum said quickly over her shoulder to Rei.

"I offered them money but they objected," I told her, "And I'd be happy to help Emiko anywhere she needs it as well."

"Do you think it's a good idea, really?" Rei asked Tatum.

"I think that Emiko is a grown woman and we should respect her choices." Tatum said, "Each of us have had issues with our parents not treating us the way we'd like to be treated. Some more than others, but if Louisa grows up and thinks she's ready for a baby I'll be excited whenever that happens."

"Well," Louisa said, "I'm hoping to wait until after college. I'll meet a _nice_ boy, and we'll have a baby and be financially stable and hopefully also have two cats."

"That's very mature of you." I told her with a grin.

"Emiko though," Tatum said, "Her dream is to dance and that is a risk on its own. She will never know if she will be financially secure, and thus does it really matter when she has a baby? I think not! I think we should be celebrating just as we did with every other pregnancy in the group. Unless of course Jou is allergic to grandchildren. In which case—we should probably get him to the hospital."

Rei laughed, but eased up a bit and I think Tatum may actually have gotten through to her.

The moment was interrupted by a triumphant roar, and I groaned, looking to the kids in the field.

"Elliot!" I shouted, patting Tatum on the shoulder and messed up Louisa's hair, "ELLIOT!" He looked toward me so I pointed to the ground firmly in front of me and he hung his head, dropped the soccer ball he'd been holding triumphantly in the air and walked slowly toward me. Being a father was exhausting. Being a parent in general was exhausting—and of course the most dysfunctional group of people all had kids together creating even more dysfunctional children. I mean I loved my kids—and even the other's kids in a totally different way, but good LORD they were a handful. More like a truckload really.

"What did I do wrong this time?" Elliot whined as he closed the gap between us. I almost laughed—how did he _not_ know?

"Tell me what happened." I said firmly, waiting for some biased story.

"The real story?" Elliot asked, for once giving me the option of his lie, or the real story... so I nodded, wary of what I was about to hear. Usually I'd hear his fibs and be able to make out a general idea of what had happened... but I'd never heard the whole story.

"Osamu's possessed, so I had to defeat him—"

"Elliot." I said, crossing my arms to force myself to not laugh.

"Okay..." Elliot sighed. "I wanted to show them all that I was the strongest—since I'm your son and all, so I scored for my team—with an epic back flip, an..." He saw the look I was giving him and cleared his throat, "And I then pushed Osamu to the ground—he was the other team's goalie, y'see... and I stepped on... him. And shouted that I was the king, and that everyone should fear me."

"Okay," I said, nodding, not sure what to say exactly. "Elliot, you know what my crest of strength means, please try not to dilute it with your evil behaviour. You'll make everyone hate you."

"Who gave you permission to be a dad?" Ken asked, adding to the list of people who kept sneaking up on me. "That was a terrible thing to say."

I shrugged and continued with Ken hanging over my shoulder. "Elliot... listen. Strength isn't physical strength. And it has nothing to do with being a bully. So please apologize to Ken for stepping on his son. Then go apologize to Osamu, and when we get home you're writing an essay about my crest. Okay? Good."

Elliot sighed, "Sorry for stepping on your son..." He bowed his head to Ken and then spun on his heel and walked slowly back over to Osamu.

I turned to Ken and took in his giant grin. "An essay?" He asked, "You're a strange father."

"My parenting skills are at an expert level!" I joked, and Ken laughed, but both of us froze when we heard Momoe's voice break.

"Please Emiko," Momoe pleaded. It seemed her and Jou had teamed up on her again. "Why can't you listen to us for once? Just once! You're too young to understand, but one day you will."

"One day I'll understand what?" Emiko asked sharply. The three small girls were still trying to sleep, and Emiko knew that. No matter how mean she could get, she was keeping her voice down enough to let them sleep. "I'll understand what I _should_ have done? Who you _expected_ me to be? Well guess what?" Emiko said, throwing her hands in the air, "I'm not that girl. I'm not who you wanted me to be, and I've always known that, but I guess this proves it. You wanted me to be perfect even when you made horrible decisions yourself—"

"No daughter of mine will repeat our mistakes," Jou said.

Emiko reeled back as though he slapped her. "Mistakes?" Her nostrils flared and for a moment I thought she would explode with anger, but upon closer inspection it looked like she might actually cry. I'd only seen Emiko cry once before, the day she was born—and heard of it one other time only. The day Sigma was defeated, but I wasn't there to see that. Both instances were perfectly understandable, and if she cried this time, I don't think anyone could blame her now either.

"You were a good mistake, sweetheart," Momoe said quickly.

"But I'm still a mistake. That's how you see me. Even eighteen years later. Good to know," she said, before she turned on her heel and stormed off.

"Emiko..." Ken muttered, heading to talk to Emiko, but Azura grabbed his hand.

"Can I ask you something...?" He asked, Ken turned his head and I was off without a second thought into the trees after Emiko.

It took a while to find her, but eventually I did, but she didn't see me yet. She was crying, I was right. She was standing with her back against a tree, her head leaning back into it. She kicked angrily at the ground and twigs and dirt went flying.

Monmon flung himself from the trees, landing in front of her.

"There you are." Emiko said kneeling down and hugging him. Monmon looked taken aback, I guess he'd never really seen Emiko cry either. Monmon decided that hugging her back would be suitable. When the hug was over he looked to her and she nodded. "I know, I'm a mess. I've never torn myself up over a pra—Michael?" Emiko wiped her eyes and turned around "W-what are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you were alright?" I said awkwardly, "Sorry for not announcing myself." I stepped toward her.

"Look, I want you to leave." She said. "I want to be alone. Maybe forever."

"That's harsh..." I said quietly, "There are like a hundred people and digimon out there who love you."

"First of all," Emiko said, "There are only eighty-seven of us in total, and I doubt they all love me."

"Specifics." I said, moving forward.

"Go away." Emiko said flatly. "Look, I get that you want to help," She sniffled, but tried to pretend she hadn't, "but I'm fine, I need no help, I'll survive. And don't tell anyone I cried."

"You're crying?" I asked.

"No," She corrected. I smiled.

"Emiko, listen." I tried.

"No!" She shouted, causing Monmon to jump back in alarm. She turned her head so she was still not looking at me, but was at least directing her words toward me. "I don't care what you have to say. They don't love me. Those kids out there, they don't love me. My brother doesn't love me, Azura will never love me—my parents despise me. Because love isn't real. There is nothing in the world that could convince me otherwise. I hate my life, I hate dancing, I hate the ground, and these twigs—I hate _you_."

"Hey now," I said, "What did the ground ever do to you?"

"Haha," Emiko said forcefully, "I get it. You're funny, now go away."

I nodded, "I'm sorry Emiko." I said softly, turning and leaving the woods.

When I emerged I found that everyone was sitting around the group and waiting for a story to begin. I wondered momentarily who had taken over, but when I arrived I found that it had been no one.

"Where were you?" Mimi asked "We were waiting for your story."

"You were _all_ there!" I gasped, "Why did I have to tell it?"

"Because it's your turn." Mimi said nodding furiously.

"Ugh." I groaned. I wasn't sure I was in the mood to tell the story just yet. Emiko had shaken me. I mean, she was so upset, and how could I _not_ be upset after talking with her. "Alright, where was I?"

Before I could start, there was a scream from the trees and Monmon flung himself from the branches. Emiko followed him out calmly so we all knew it was alright.

"Well," I started, clearing my throat.

* * *

So the night went as you guys said. Nothing important really happened until later in the night. We all caught up with one another, as per usual, only this time a lot of the focus was on Sora, which was interesting because Sora had no interesting stories to tell.

"Yeah so Douche and I went to the park and we were on the swings."

"Mr Douchery bought me a ring, decided he liked it, and kept it for himself."

"Douche and I enjoy spending our leisure time talking about his hair."

"Douche and I stood still last night and watched paint dry."

"Douchey douche—Douchery Douche-Douche is douchey."

* * *

"Michael." Sora warned.

* * *

"Well Jenna got married." I told them all, "and since she's not really one of us her wedding went smoothly. She's planning kids next. Exciting stuff."

"Why weren't we invited to the wedding?" Mimi asked.

"I wonder..." I mocked curiosity, "oh yeah, because every wedding we go to falls to pieces."

"Were you invited?" Taichi asked Willis who shook his head.

"Nope." He admitted, "Neither was Michael."

"Really?" Iori asked, stifling laughter.

"No, it's okay, laugh." I told them, and then we were all having a good time. Except Yamato's girlfriend who was being kind of mean by glaring at Sora all night. Even while talking. It was weird. She'd be talking all cheerfully but still be glaring. Sora politely pretended to not notice, but eventually it came too far, and she told Taichi she was leaving.

"Don't go," He pleaded, "It's only nine o'clock!"

"Everyone's already leaving though." Sora said quietly.

"Because they have babies," Taichi said shrugging, "You don't have a baby."

"I have one!" I said cheerfully, "I'm still here!" Sora smiled at me, kindly, but still backed up. She tried to pretend she was very interested with the dress she was wearing, but Taichi knew she was sneaking away and he rolled his eyes.

"If you have something to say, then say it." He said through gritted teeth. "Sora, you know I love you, but you can't keep doing this. You can't keep popping in and out of our lives like this. We want you here, but if you're not going to be here, then leave. If not, say something. Say what you need to say and be who you need to be."

Sora nodded, swallowed thickly, and batted her eyes, trying not to cry. "I don't like that girl." She said quietly. "I don't like that I..." She turned and walked to the door.

"Sora," Taichi said. "If you leave, then just... don't come back."

"Taichi," Sora said boldly which was shocking. "I'll be here tomorrow to talk to you. Right now I just can't do it. Are you really going to tell me we can't be friends anymore? Because I'd like you to name one person in this room who knows as much about you as I do."

"Rei," Taichi said.

"Rei," Sora said to catch her attention, but she didn't need to, all attention was now on Sora and Taichi. "How old was Taichi when he had his first crush?"

"I... don't know." Rei said.

"Eight," Sora said, "What was his favourite colour before he got his crest?"

"Maybe red?" Rei asked.

"Blue actually." Sora answered her own question, "why did he used to wear goggles?"

"I don't know that." Rei said.

"Neither do I." Taichi said, "I don't remember that."

"Your grandfather bought them for you when Hikari was born because you were feeling left out Taichi." Sora said.

"There's no way you know that if I don't." Taichi argued.

"You were wearing them the first time we met Taichi." Sora shot, "And I asked why you were upset. Kids were picking on you for wearing them and I told you to not care about what other people think of you, I told you to be strong and do what you think is right in this world. And that's when you told me the story. I remember Taichi."

"Well Rei knows the recent things." Taichi argued, "She knows what you would know if you were still here."

"I'm here, right now Taichi." Sora said.

"So what are you implying?" Taichi asked.

"Nothing?" Sora said, "Something—I don't know! You and Rei are perfect together, so if that's what you're after, have it." Rei seemed to relax a little, but Taichi still looked confused. "I just want you to grow up. I am upset Taichi. I am insecure, and I want to go home for the night. If that means we can't be friends, then I guess you're right, I don't know anything about you. And if that's the case, then guess what? You're not invited to my birthday party."

Taichi looked shocked at first and then suddenly laughed, "Okay Sora."

"Okay?" She asked.

"Okay." He confirmed, "I'll see you tomorrow." He was smiling and finally she managed a smile back and she was out the door a second later."

As the door shut, my phone beeped and I received a message from Tatum telling me to come home because she had to work the next day and Louisa wouldn't stop crying. I quickly made the round of goodbye, which was super awkward, because Yamato was sitting not listening to his girlfriend as she went on and on about her life dreams. She seemed awesome, and her dreams were insane, but Yamato would never know that, because he would never give her his full attention.

When I finally left, I was in a bit of a hurry, but I stopped when I found Sora crying.

* * *

"I thought she went home," Kana questioned.

"She left, but didn't go home." I informed them. "I found her in the dark, crying, hugging her digimon partner." My eyes flicked to Emiko who looked like she might want to throw a dagger into my chest.

"I wasn't there," Biyomon said, "I was on a long excursion with the Yokomon. They needed to digivolve and none of them could, so we were on a mission."

"Oh, my bad." I said, "I didn't remember that right." But I did.

* * *

"Sora?" I asked, stepping toward her and sitting next to her. She sat alone in the grass looking up at the shining stars that were reflecting across the wide pond that stretched out in front of us outside Taichi's house.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"The same thing that's been wrong my entire life." She said softly. "You know, I went to therapy, right?"

"Yeah okay," I nodded.

"And so the therapist says to me, 'what's the problem?' and so I say, 'love.'" She looked to me so I nodded, "Then he says, 'that's everyone's problem. We need to find the route of the problem.' And I tell him, 'I am the representative of love for all nine worlds, I'm a piece of what holds us in place. I don't know the route of the problem and if I did I wouldn't be here.'"

"Seems rough." I told her with a smile. She laughed a little.

"Anyway, we did this memory therapy session and there was this moment that was totally blocked from my mind somehow." She told me, "And it was a memory of when I was ten... maybe eleven. I was sitting on these bleachers, and a man appeared next to me... it was Gennai though. And he told me that I'd be on a long, long journey until I truly understood love. But he admitted it to me right there—the first day. He said that I wasn't the right choice."

"No," I said, "He told you that you were the right choice, but that it would take you a long time to figure out why."

"Forever more like." Sora said quietly. And then, even softer, she said "Sometimes I wish I was still dead."

* * *

"Uh, mommy?" Aika asked, looking to Sora who was staying confident, and opened her arms ready to let their judgement wash over her. She wasn't ashamed of herself anymore.

* * *

"Sora, don't say that." I told her sharply.

"Well that way love would never exist and no one would have to hurt that way anymore. No one would have to feel the pain that I feel every day."

"But as it stands, love does exist. And there are probably eighty-seven people in this world that love you. Probably more." I said to her, "And if you just realized that, then you wouldn't have to lie about how you feel anymore. You could go right up to your Mom, or your Dad, or the boy you love and tell them the truth."

* * *

"That last part was a little off..." Sora said, "But pretty much I guess." I looked quickly to Emiko, but no one noticed it was aimed at her. No one aside from her of course.

* * *

"Sora, that horrible boy you're dating doesn't know anything about you does he?" I asked her.

"What?" Sora gasped, "of course he does!"

"No, he doesn't." I said firmly. "That's why you just yelled at Taichi and Rei for not knowing enough about each other. You want him to know more about you, but you can't tell him or he'll hate you. He doesn't know you have a partner, does he?" She shook her head. "Or that you've ever been to the Digital World?" Again, the answer was no. "Or that you've died, or that you've been with Taichi, and Neo and Yamato and that other horrible boy."

"Or that I love fashion, or that my parents almost got a divorce, or that sports and other athletics will always be a big part of my life. Or that I've known Taichi since I was six years old. Or that I have a friend who is a doctor—or that you're a famous actor—or that Takeru's book is the one that's going to knock his off the best sellers list finally and take that horrible smug smile off his plastic face." Sora continued almost in a rage.

"Sora," I said quietly, "You need to tell him who you really are, because if you don't, you'll never be happy."

"Why do you care about my happiness?"

"Why wouldn't I?" I said forcefully. Sora and I both stopped talking after that for a while. She, pushed her hair behind her ear and straightened her dress underneath herself.

"You know, he thinks I'm rich." Sora said slowly. "He thinks I created some vaccine or something. That I'm smart and rich and beautiful."

"You are smart and beautiful." I told her, "And one day your fashion will shoot off the ground and you'll be reeling in the money. But none of that will make you happy because you'll be lying about who you are." There was another brief silence. "Why are you... lying to him?"

"Because Yamato hates me." Sora said quietly.

"Why would you think that?"

"He told me." She said her voice still soft, but now there were tears welling up in her eyes. "He told me that he hates me... he promised to wait for me, and I was doing the same, and then he told me he hated me after he was a jerk to me, which was my fault, I'll admit... but then Taichi told me to go to him, and I was going to go come clean and apologize and we'd be happy. But he had a new girlfriend. I hate her. She's nice and pretty and smart and successful, and fun. And I hate her. Because she's confident, and I'm not. She knows how to love, and I do not. She's perfect for a man that's perfect for me. Unfortunately for me, I'm not perfect for him."

"So then you started dating Douche and came up with an alternate persona in attempts to start fresh...?" I asked, and the silence I received was my confirmation. "We only accept the love that we think we deserve." I told her. She looked up to me, wiping her eyes. "It's an old saying. You had eighteen years to accept the love Yamato was always offering, and you never accepted it because you're not a confident girl."

"Gee, thanks." She said.

"Let me finish." I told her. "Yamato loved you, and maybe he still does, but you would never accept it because you have always been focused on other people. Focus on yourself for once. And don't just say you're going to. I bet that boy—Samuna—he had a lot of issues, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did, with his family—how did you know?" She asked.

"Because you went away to school to focus on yourself, and instead focused on someone else again." I told her. "Why don't you just stand up one day, look yourself in the mirror, say "I'm gorgeous. I'm strong, and I do not love Douche. I love Yamato." And then go get him. Because it's high time that happened Sora."

"I'm too late Michael." Sora said firmly, standing up. "I'm too late. But you may have a point. It is time I smartened up." She smiled at me and hugged me. "Thank you Michael."

And then she was gone...

I checked my phone and saw three missed calls from Tatum and quickly rushed off to get home.

* * *

"That's pretty much what I've got for you, I think." I told them with a smile. "None of them had yet told me that my stories were horrible, so that was a win, I thought. I glanced to Elliot who shrugged, then to Louisa who seemed like she was ready to burst she was so excited, and then to Emiko who was staring directly at me, but maybe not angry anymore.

"Alright," I said with a grin, "Let's keep this show moving, it's getting late, who is going to go next?"

"Oooh!" Kurayami perked up, putting her hand in the air. "I have a story."

"What is it?" Willis asked, curious.

She smiled brightly, and Haruki and Daisuke jumped to their feet. "Now?" They both asked... but they didn't get a coherent answer, Kurayami just clutched her stomach and cried out in pain.

**Next Time on Happily Ever After:** This is a Michael chapter, but the next one is not. What what? What what? What what what? What? The next one is Hidetoooo. He's a boy too.


	9. Lightning Round

******Y/N: **Hideto was one of the characters that I wasn't sure of before writing this chapter. Now, he's up there with Koushiro, Iori and Kiyoko for my favourite to write as. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did while writing it. It was really fun and actually (despite being my longest) the quickest for me to write.

**U/N: **So I didn't really write this one at all. Similar to the rest of the chapters you've been reading lately I guess. This is the one where we give you a last in your face glimpse at all of these kids xD I like them, and so I liked this chapter. It's cool yo.

**Title: Happily Ever After**

**By: Yukiraking**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters**

**Chapter 9: Lightning Round**

_**Hideto Fujimoto: 9:00 pm**_

"Okay," Kurayami yelled through gritted teeth. "The baby is coming. I repeat, the baby is coming."

"Oh my god!" seemed to be the general consensus. Michael offered to go get hot water, Sora offered to call all of Kurayami's friends to let them know it was happening—before realizing they were mostly already here—and Mimi got down on her knees and told her she was ready to catch the baby whenever Kurayami was ready to go.

"Get up," Kurayami screamed at her. "If one of you was delivering my baby, it would be _Jou_. The _doctor_."

"Right..." Mimi said awkwardly getting to her feet. "I knew that. I was just excited."

"Do you want some ice chips?" Rei asked. "I'm sure I could get something to substitute from the house..."

"No. I'm fine. I just need a distraction. Stories! Stories will distract me. Just keep them coming. The contractions are not close enough together to have the baby yet," Kurayami said.

Everyone looked at Michael, who shook his head. We all sort of looked from one to the other, unsure of who to pick. No one was exactly volunteering.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather move into the house?" Mari asked. "Not that birth isn't a beautiful thing, but I remember _I_ didn't want anyone looking at me while I was in labour. Especially not a bunch of children, and I mean, won't it scare Emiko?"

"She should've thought of that before getting pregnant then," Mimi said, rolling her eyes. "It'll be good for her, to witness something like this. Know what she's getting into and all that jazz."

"There's no point in scaring her though," Mari argued. "She'll find out soon enough."

"And I wish she wouldn't," Mimi snapped.

"And _I_ wish you'd stop talking about me like I'm not even here. What kind of Godfather are you, Mimi?" Emiko scolded. "You're supposed to support me no matter what. Like you said you would. You're supposed to look after me when my Mom and Dad can't—which is happening right now, because they're being horrible people. And you're not doing that. Oaths don't mean _anything_ to you, do they?"

"I take my job as Godfather very seriously Emiko," Mimi ground out. "Why do you think I'm so upset by this?"

"Because you took a page from Sora's old boyfriend's book and are being a bit of a douche?" Emiko asked pleasantly.

"No," Mimi yelled. "It's because you're growing up! And you're not supposed to do that. None of you are. It means we are too. Your parents I mean. Time's not supposed to go that fast. You're supposed to be a kid forever. And you're not. I don't want to let you go. I'm not ready for that. And when you're a mom, you'll understand that."

"So instead of letting me feel like we could be _friends_ instead of just Godfather and Goddaughter, you make me feel like the gum on the bottom of your shoe?" Emiko said incredulously.

"Gum? Where!" Mimi shrieked, looking at her cowboy boots.

"Seriously Mimi," Mari snapped. "She's trying to have a heart to heart here."

"I know," Mimi said. "But it's so serious. I don't like serious stuff. I avoid it whenever possible. You know that. But yeah. I'd like to be your friend."

"Thank you," Emiko said. "That means you can't get me in trouble for doing stupid stuff anymore, you can't squeal on me to my parents, and you can't complain about me being pregnant. Is that something you can handle?"

Mimi thought it over for a second. "I think so."

"Excellent," Emiko said with a scary looking grin.

"Now wait a minute," Jou and Momoe both started to complain. But they didn't get a chance to rant about how Mimi _really_ ought to tell them about Emiko's horrible ideas, because Kurayami wouldn't let them.

"STORIES!" she screamed. "Not arguments. Tell. Me. A. Story. NOW!"

Everyone's heads swiveled again, I was all for getting Mari to have another go at it, but she was looking at me. Kiyoko, traitor that he was, had the same idea. The kids caught on quickly, and soon everyone was looking towards me.

"Why are you all looking at me?" I asked. "Kiyoko already told you all the interesting drama that happened to us."

"But that was ages ago. What happened after?" Mai wanted to know.

"Not a whole lot," I admitted. "I was pretty boring for a couple of years there. I was really into spending time with Kiyoko of course, but I also was just going through school. Boring stuff for kids like you."

"We're going to get to that point in life sometime," Renjiro said. "I know _I_ am going to school. I like school."

"You want me to tell you about school?"

"Yes," Renjiro said nodding.

"Can you _be_ any more boring?" Nikko whined.

"Shut up," Kana snapped. "I want to hear it too."

"_Sure_ you do," Makoto said sarcastically, wiggling his eyebrows. "You just have a crush."

"You're going to have a crushed _head_ if you don't shut up!" Kana threatened.

"So I went to school," I said quickly.

* * *

...

* * *

"Kay no," I said. "That would literally be the most boring story of the day, and that includes Ken's story about his kids. So I'm not talking about a day at school. I can talk about it in general, but I'm not giving you the play-by-play of college."

"That's okay," Renjiro said. "Whatever you can tell me."

"Right," I said. "It involved a lot of homework, which I didn't enjoy. There were a bunch of parties I could've gone to, but I didn't, because I went home to study so I could actually pass all my tests, rather than have to do them again. I was going through so many different courses on the ways of the mind it was ridiculous. How many did I really _need_ to be able to solve the problems of high school students? I was already so good at that. But in order to be hired, you need the proper training. So I went to school for four years, to obtain a bachelor's degree in both social work and psychology. I _could've_ gone the extra mile and took courses in counseling too, but I found out I had to take a mastery course afterwards to prepare me for a school setting anyway, so I opted to leave it off of my repertoire."

"Wow," Emiko said. "You just crammed so many uninteresting words into that speech that it's not even funny. I'm so glad I'm not planning to go into counseling."

"Yeah, well, _I_ find it fulfilling," I said, rolling my eyes at her. "Point is," I said. "It took me close to six years to get out of school. And I didn't do much of anything else during that time, other than, you know relationships and stuff."

"I said I wanted stories to distract me from the pain," Kurayami complained. "I didn't mean to tell a story where I'd focus on the pain to distract me from the story. That was BORING. I need something better!"

"Okay, okay," I said, holding my hands up to placate her. "I can tell another one. A _different_ one."

"It better be more interesting," she said through clenched teeth. She squeezed her eyes shut as she sat through another contraction. "Get going. Distract me."

"Right!"

* * *

We burst through the front door to the hospital. We didn't care about noise levels, we were freaking out. "Can someone get us a wheelchair?" Willis shouted as calmly as he could. "I've seen the movies and they always get the pregnant lady a wheelchair!"

"Don't call me a lady," Mari growled, clutching her stomach, wishing more than anything that she was sitting down.

"Right," he said. "Sorry honey."

"Just...maybe...don't talk to me?" she suggested.

"Okay. Right. I won't do that," Willis said, mimicking locking his mouth with a key.

"You're so ch-EEZY," Mari said, ending off in a rather quiet scream as she clutched at his hand, turning his fingers white as she tried to ignore the pain.

* * *

"This is a HORRIBLE distraction!" Kurayami screamed at me.

"Right, less focus on the pain, more on the results," I said nervously. "Gotcha."

* * *

"Didn't you hear the man?" I yelled. "Get a wheelchair over her ASAP. Alias III is having a baby!"

"Alias III is _NOT_ having a baby," Mari snarled. "_I_ am."

"He didn't mean it," Kiyoko said quickly. "He's just really excited to meet them."

"And you're not?" she asked dangerously.

"I am," he squeaked.

"We all are," Tatum added quickly, holding Elliot's hand tightly in hers while Louisa held Michaels. That little girl looked like it was Christmas. She was getting new cousins. _Babies_. She was over the freaking moon. Elliot on the other hand looked miserable and terrified. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to be at home, playing the new digimon game—his dad was a Digidestined after all, he thought that would somehow lead to him having an advantage over other players, it didn't make sense at the time...

* * *

"That _still_ doesn't make sense," I corrected, looking at Elliot. "Did it work?"

"No," he grumbled.

"How interesting," Kurayami said sarcastically. "Keep talking!"

* * *

Anyway, he was scared of Mari right then, it was obvious. He wanted to leave. But Tatum kept a firm grip on his hand and he was stuck here with the rest of us.

The staff finally found a brain and realized that Mari was prepared to give birth on the _floor_ if they didn't get her help soon. She'd waited a bit too long before coming really, but we couldn't do anything about that now. They rushed over with a chair, and wheeled her down the hall. Willis trailed after them when Mari roared about his lack of presence. I was pretty sure he was scared of her too.

* * *

"Was not," Willis protested childishly.

"Were so," Mari countered.

"Nu-uh," he said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, yeah," Kurayami said. She looked at me and I started again as quickly as I could.

* * *

The rest of us were led to the waiting room. But it was really boring there. We couldn't hear anything that was going on—which the movies lied about—and no one was talking. Granted it was about seven in the morning, and I wasn't _really_ awake yet. But you'd have thought there'd be _something_ going on. We couldn't even speculate whether it would be a girl or boy, because we'd always known there were two of them, and they were girls. We didn't know what their names would be...but I didn't really care, so long as I got to see them. They'd be named whether I liked the names or not. They weren't _my_ kids.

Anyway, I got bored, so I looked to Kiyoko, signaling that I was going to ditch that place, and he followed me out.

"This is crazy," he said.

"I know," I agreed.

"The other kids were real and all," he continued. "But aren't _ours_ in a way."

* * *

"They aren't _yours_ at all!" Mari admonished.

I ignored her.

They totally were.

* * *

"No. They're the other guys' kids. Mari's one of us. It's different somehow," I agreed.

"I can't wait to meet them," he said wistfully.

"I think you can manage the wait," I said dryly. "It could be any time now."

* * *

"Okay, is this story going to be more interesting soon? Because it needs to be. It _really_ needs to be," Haruki asked. His mother had taken to squeezing his hand in the boring parts. Apparently my story telling needed work. Alright then.

* * *

We ended up in a hallway with a window down the entire one side. I looked out it, thinking I might see the sky or something, but I was met with a sea of babies. Okay. Maybe like thirty babies, but it was still a lot. They were wrapped in white blankets with either blue or pink polka-dots, and they had pink and blue hats that matched their blankets. I didn't see any names or anything, but I guessed the names might be on the other side of their little beds. You didn't want just any creepy people knowing the babies' information.

And no, Kiyoko and I weren't just any creepy dudes looking at babies. We _stumbled_ upon them. It's totally different.

Kiyoko's eyes went wide as he took in the sight. He looked at each baby in turn, but he always came back to one of the girls covered in pink. I looked at her, to see what was so special, and I didn't want to look away. She was the prettiest baby I'd ever seen. It helped that she'd been cleaned off after her birth and was clearly at least a couple of days old. She didn't have the gross newborn baby look anymore.

Point was: she was perfection in baby form.

I looked to Kiyoko and he looked to me. At once we both declared: "I want a baby." But clearly, we both meant that we wanted _her_.

* * *

"And you're _not_ creepy dudes?" Makoto snorted. "Yeah. Right."

"Mind your own business," I snapped, embarrassed. Because he was right. It was kind of creepy.

* * *

"Look at her little face," I cooed.

"She's so tiny," Kiyoko said softly. "I'd forgotten anyone could be that small."

"I bet she's got the cutest little toes in the world," I continued.

"So breakable even," Kiyoko rambled.

"And her tiny fingers. Look at her, she's trying to grab the blanket!" I exclaimed.

"She's going to depend on her parents to protect her," he said.

"I'm gonna die from cuteness overload," I declared.

"They wouldn't be as good as protecting her as we would," Kiyoko surmised. "They don't know how lucky they are."

* * *

"Seriously guys..." Daisuke said. "What the hell?"

"Gastp," Chika said. "You swore!"

"There's no _t_ in gasp," Makoto said rolling his eyes.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said shortly. "I'm sure."

"We were in love," Kiyoko said. "I don't expect you to understand. You could have children the natural way. And it was harmless really."

"Is she the reason you adopted Izumi?" Mai wanted to know. "Because she might get upset later if she hears this story and realizes she was the substitute for the 'perfect baby' you're talking about."

"Just listen," Kurayami hissed.

* * *

"So, I couldn't help but overhear how much you like that baby."

We pretty much jumped out of our skin when a woman came slinking out of the shadows at the end of the hall. Apparently she'd been watching us. Creepy much? Yeah. Duh. But she was pretty, with really excellent hair. There was something about her nose that was familiar too.

* * *

"Her _nose_?" Osamu questioned.

"Yup," I said quickly. Kurayami's eyes were starting to water, I assumed she was trying to brave her way through a contraction. Haruki's eyes were bulging in pain. She was still squeezing his hand.

* * *

"That's my baby," she said proudly.

"Oh...um...sorry?" Kiyoko said awkwardly.

"Don't be. You two are so sweet. I've been visiting her as much as I can," she said.

"Couldn't you just have her brought to your room?" I asked.

"I could. But I'd get too attached, I think. I can't take care of her. I'm not in a good place right now. She deserves better than what I could give her," she said nonchalantly. "I care about her. Ya know? She's my baby after all. But I can't keep her."

We starred at her. She was willingly giving up the most perfect baby on the face of the planet? What the hell?

"I didn't just want to stick her in the system though. I didn't think that was fair of me. I brought her into this world, I should at least make sure she's taken care of in it. And if I can't do it, I should find someone who can. Ya know?"

"I get it," I said, even though I really didn't, she just seemed to want one of us to say something.

"Are you guys...together?" she asked slowly, looking between the two of us, eyes landing on our interlocked fingers.

I mean really? What was her _first_ clue?

"Because you two are totally sweet. I already said that. And _you_," she said pointing to Kiyoko. "Seem _pretty_ confident that you could keep her safe, no matter what."

"We totally could," I said. "We've got back-up."

"A lot of back-up," Kiyoko agreed.

"And you could love her?" she hedged.

"Absolutely," I said.

"Unconditionally," Kiyoko agreed.

"Great," she said happily. "You can have her."

* * *

"She just _gave_ you her baby?" Sora said in astonishment.

"Yep," Kiyoko said. "It was a bit of a surprise."

* * *

"What?" we both replied in shock.

"Yeah. I can't keep her, you clearly want her. You're strong enough to protect her and you'll love her. That's all I need," she said. "I might like to visit one day. But it wouldn't be for long. And you'll always be her parents. I'll just be the one that gave birth. How does that sound?"

"Ridiculously unbelievable," I said.

"I've got papers, if you'd like to sign them," she offered.

We totally did it. We were gonna be dads! Best day ever right? Anyway, she had these papers, and she had the birth certificate, but the name was empty, and it never really occurred to us that we'd have to _name_ this angel.

"What'll her last name be?" she wanted to know.

"Fujimoto," I said. Only Kiyoko said "Izumi" at the exact same time.

"Uh...which'll it be?" she asked.

"Fujimoto," I insisted.

"Why would we give her _your_ name? You hate your family. I love mine. Izumi's so much better!"

"But there are so many Izumis," I said. "I'm the only Fujimoto I care about."

"But there are still four more Fujimotos, which means there are more of those," Kiyoko argued.

"If it helps," the girl said. "I've taken to calling her Izumi. I'd kind of like that to be her name."

* * *

"Oh good," Mai said. "I was worried for a bit there that you had another kid that you kept in a cupboard or something."

"One that happens to be the same age as Izumi and the twins?" Haruki asked.

"I didn't do the math okay," Mai snapped defensively.

* * *

It was perfect! Why didn't I think of it before? I _worked_ with a girl called Izumi. I knew it could be a first name too. She could have both names and we wouldn't fight about it anymore.

"Izumi Izumi," Kiyoko said. "I like it."

"You're kidding right?" I snapped. "Izumi Fujimoto."

"But it'll be so much easier when she starts school if she only has to learn to spell _one_ name. Izumi Izumi is much more practical. And it's unique too. Bonus," Kiyoko said happily.

"Just put down Izumi Fujimoto," I told her. "We'll sort this out later."

"Okay," she said, signing it with a flourish. "I'd better get these to the front desk. They've been asking for these for days. Oops. I'll come back to say goodbye to her." We waited until we were sure she'd actually left and wasn't just lurking in the shadows again.

"She's keeping her name," I announced.

"I gathered that was your plan," Kiyoko sulked. "Her middle name is Mari."

"Why?" I whined. "I didn't even get a choice."

"I pray to Sigma sometimes. He'll kill you if you don't give me what I want."

"..."

* * *

"..."

* * *

"Really?" I asked.

"No," he said. "But it would be _helpful_. I just want to name her."

"Izumi Mari Fujimoto," I said. "I like it."

"She's ours," he said incredulously.

A nurse came in and got Izumi out of her little crib, and her mother said her goodbyes. Then the nurse brought her out to us, and we totally panicked and called Mimi and Koushiro to get us some baby stuff since we'd never be able to leave the hospital without at least a baby seat and diapers. And then we took our precious baby girl back to the waiting room...just in time to hear the announcement that the birth was over, and that we could go in and see them now.

So we brought Izumi in with us and totally rubbed in it Mari's face that we got a kid before her and that hers weren't the first Alias III kids after all.

* * *

"The end," I said with a smile. "Good times."

"Really Hideto?" Kurayami asked. "You'd do that to a woman that just gave birth? Rude."

"Uh, yeah," I said. "I'm still me. I was just a proud daddy." I glanced over to Izumi, who was still sleeping with the twins. I didn't know how much longer that would last though. Kurayami was bound to scream louder at any moment waking them from their sleep. The sleep they needed to have to make for happy parents the next day.

I wisely didn't mention that Izumi's mother had only been able to visit us twice during Izumi's life, due to an illness. She'd contracted it before she realized she was pregnant, and rather than terminate the pregnancy so she could undergo treatment to save herself, she decided to have her baby instead. This, of course left the illness to run rampant in her body, and by the time she was able to have treatment, it was too late for it to have any effect. We took pictures of Izumi and her mother, for her to keep, but we wouldn't be getting any new ones. She passed on not too long before Izumi's first birthday. She'd been hoping to see it...

But after Mari's story, I didn't think the kids needed to know that.

Kiyoko and I didn't really like talking about it anyway.

"Did you only tell that story because we've been talking about babies all day?" Emiko demanded. "Because I don't like that idea. That someone could come in and steal my thunder."

"I don't think any of the other kids are dumb enough to sneak in and adopt a kid at their age," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Are you insulting her decisions, like everyone else?" Takeru asked incredulously.

Wait, what?

"I'm pretty sure you've made some worse decisions in the past Hideto," Hikari said gently. "All of us have. That's why we aren't in any place to judge her."

"Who said anything about judging her?" I asked honestly. "The next oldest are twelve! What are they gonna do with a kid? Who would _let_ them adopt a kid?"

"Some creepy lady that was lurking in shadows maybe," Haruki suggested.

"Are you gonna get a baby Haruki?" Louisa asked.

"Uh...no. I'm not getting a kid. When did start being about me? Weren't you fighting about Emiko again?" he wanted to know.

"I have no idea if that's what this is," I said. "They just started in on me because I have babies on the brain. But hello! Kurayami's giving birth!"

"Thank you," Kurayami snarled sarcastically. "I'd _forgotten. _Thanks for the _stories_ to distract me."

"Right, stories," I said. I was wracking my brain but nothing was coming up. "I think I'm gonna need some suggestions."

"Pick me, pick me!" Louisa called, waving her hand in the air frantically.

"Okay..." I said awkwardly.

"Weddings," she said. "Talk about weddings. Stuff always happens at them."

"Which one?" I asked.

"Taichi and Rei," she said quickly.

* * *

"I object!"

"You can't object," Neo shouted.

"She's my daughter, of _course_ I can object," Mrs Saiba corrected him.

"She's been overruled, continue the service," Neo told Koushiro.

"You can't do that!" she shrieked.

"I'm not letting you ruin my sister's wedding," Neo told her.

"Mother beats brother," Mrs Saiba snarled.

"I destroyed the entire Digital World for her," Neo said. "And that's because I _liked_ her. What could I do for you I wonder?"

"Are you threatening your mother?" his date asked horrified.

"You're _threatening_ me?" his mother hissed.

"I don't like the word threatening. It implies indecision. You _might_ do something, you _might_ not. I'm never so indecisive," Neo said coldly.

"Oh my God," his date gasped. "You're a psychopath! I can't believe I agreed to come here with you. I'm leaving."

"You might want to wait until someone can take you through the gateway," Neo said. "Or you'll be stuck here."

"Whatever," she said with wild eyes. "So long as it _isn't_ you."

"Stop making this about you," Mrs Saiba screamed at her. "It's about stopping this wedding."

"I thought we agreed you don't have an opinion," Neo said.

"Stop disrespecting me!"

"I'm not going to _ask_ you to leave, but you'll be leaving now. Sorry Rei, you look beautiful. Marry that guy, I'm taking her home," Neo said. "Dracomon, I'm going to need back-up. You can come with us if you want, or you can be stranded in the Digital World, I don't really care." He pointed to his date who was absolutely disgusted by this point. Dracomon and Neo dragged the two women away, and Rei and Taichi finally became husband and wife.

* * *

"Now Mom and Dad!" Louisa shouted, before I could even catch my breath.

* * *

"Can the best man move back a few feet? We can't get a clear view of the happy couple!"

Looking to the highest windows of the castle—because they decided to get married in a freaking castle—we could see there was a photographer in each one, seemingly floating behind it. Turns out they were dangling on rope from the roof of the castle, one was actually attached to a helicopter, each desperate to get pictures of this ceremony. The thing is, it was like the wedding to end all weddings. Or that's what the magazines called it anyway. Famous people from across the globe were to attend. There actually weren't very many people that showed up that _weren't_ famous. I mean, most of the DigiDestined are famous. There were actors, musicians, TV personnel, politicians, chefs and scientists from everywhere attending. It was a big deal.

Well, it was to the media anyway.

Point is everyone had heard of this wedding.

"No! I have the perfect view. Don't move an inch," another photographer ordered.

Willis was rocking back and forth on his heels. He didn't know who to listen to, or what to do.

"This is supposed to be a _PRIVATE_ ceremony," Tatum yelled. "What do you all think you're doing!?"

"I think they're trying to take pictures," Daisuke said rolling his eyes.

"They're not getting any!" Tatum screamed. "Everyone with a flying digimon, Digivolve them. And have them hover in front of those windows. The only photographer that's getting any pictures of _me_ is ours."

So Birdramon, Kabuterimon, Lilymon, Angemon, Angewomon, Aquilamon, Stingmon, Coredramon, Omnimon and Piedmon blocked all the windows, while Monodromon—who didn't Digivolve—stayed at Tatum's side, and the paparazzi didn't get a single good shot of the wedding. What they did have already was extremely blurry, and the magazines all started a campaign that labelled Tatum as a big diva, just because she wanted to keep her _private_ ceremony from the public—a title that still clings to her today.

* * *

"I'm totally not a diva either," Tatum said grumpily.

"I'm still caught up on the castle," Haruki said.

"This is better Hideto," Kurayami said. "Short, fast stories, they're each very different, I like that. Keep doing that."

"Alrighty then," I said. "Who's next, Louisa?"

"Willis and Mari," she decided.

* * *

"Are we going to start yet?" Neo asked. "I think we should start."

"We can't start yet!" Mari shouted. "She'll be here."

"Are you _sure_," I asked as gently as I could.

"Yes," she said fiercely.

"I believe her," Kiyoko said.

"Of course you do," I said rolling my eyes.

"No," Willis said. "I believe her too."

"Of course _you_ do," I repeated.

"She's coming. She _has_ to. She promised she'd always come. I can't do this without her," Mari said. She was close to tears and I literally had no idea how to take care of that. Mari didn't cry. She was too tough for that stuff.

We waited another half hour, before Michael got a text from his wife, saying that Louisa wouldn't sleep and if he was finished with the wedding he should go home and help her deal with their daughter. He didn't want to leave, but if she wasn't going to show up...

"She's coming," Mari said. She wasn't quite as confident as she was before. Lopmon and Terriermon hugged her legs. She fell to her knees, her white dress soaking up all the dew on the grass. "She's coming."

"The garden is really pretty," Kiyoko said.

"I know," Mari told him. "It's a magical place."

"I'm kind of honoured that you brought us here at all," I announced.

"I'm one of you. Alias III," she said. "You guys _had_ to be here today. And Neo. We're like a separate team from the DigiDestined. Even though we're DigiDestined too..."

"I get it," I said. "I always thought of it as us and them. Not as one group."

"I tend to put myself in a category of my own too," Willis said. "Since no one tells me anything at all."

"I just group myself with Willis because we're the American branch," Michael said.

"I get my own category too."

We all whirled around to see Lalamon sitting on top of a boulder.

"You _came_!" Mari cried. It took less than a second for her to have Lalamon in her arms. "I can get married now."

"You were waiting for me?" Lalamon asked happily. "I get to be a part of it?"

"You're my flower-girl," Mari told her.

"Really?" Lalamon cried.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Mari said. "No really. If you weren't my flower-girl, we weren't getting married."

"That was the stipulation, yes," Willis said sheepishly. "And I'm sorry for not really believing you'd come."

So they got married in the light of the moon on Halloween night. It was all very dramatic.

* * *

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Mai said after I'd finished recounting the wedding. "You can't just skip ahead like that. Mari and Willis weren't even together yet!"

"Yeah," Kana realized. "You spoiled the ending."

"Sorry..." I said awkwardly.

"You can fix it," Mai assured me. "Just tell us the rest of the story from where Mari and Michael—to a lesser degree—left off."

"Uh..." I said, trying to think of something that I was actually _there_ for... "Okay. I've got it."

* * *

"Hey, Mari," Willis called.

"Yes?" she asked cautiously.

"Would you be willing to go...skydiving with me?" he asked nervously. Like he was afraid of being shot down.

"Skydiving?" she said, a smile growing on her face. "I'm in!"

"Alright!" Willis said, punching the air enthusiastically.

* * *

"That's it?" Kana asked.

"I've got more moments," I said defensively. "But they _did_ live—or at least spend most of their time—in America, while I was in Japan. I wasn't there for a lot of the big stuff."

"Let's hear some then," she urged.

* * *

"Where are all my clothes?!" Mari screeched.

"Oh, I did the laundry," Willis said casually.

"You. Did. What?" she demanded.

"Laundry," he said slowly.

"Did you separate the whites from the colours?"

"Yes."

"Did you separate the light and dark colours?"

"Yes."

"Did you wash the delicates separately?"

"Of _course_."

"Did you just throw everything in the dryer?"

"Never. Some of that stuff would've shrunk. I read all of the labels carefully. I made sure to use both detergent and fabric softener, I tumble dried things, I put the washer on different speeds depending on the article of clothing in it. I folded the clothes that needed folding, and hung the rest in their designated locations. I _know_ what I'm doing."

"Wow," Mari said in awe. "I just cram everything in the washer at once. You can do my laundry from here on out...if you want."

"Alright!" Willis said, punching the air enthusiastically.

* * *

"Seriously dude," Nikko said. "You can do my chores whenever you want."

"I'll think about it," Willis said rolling his eyes.

"MORE!" Kurayami screamed. The sheer volume of the shrieking woke the three toddlers, who all started crying. Mari looked angry, but scooped Madlyn in her arms, while Willis grabbed Iris. Kiyoko tried to get Izumi to calm down, but ended up giving her to me—where she stopped crying instantaneously, because I'm just _that_ awesome. Kiyoko plopped down next to me, and I slipped an arm around him. Kurayami glared at me, and Haruki was definitely pleading at me with his eyes.

* * *

"Mari," Willis said. "We should totally go for a picnic at sundown."

"Would this be a _romantic_ picnic?" Mari asked suspiciously.

"Totally," Terriermon giggled.

"No," Willis lied. "No, of course not. Just a picnic dinner, maybe a few candles, down by the pond, with you and I, alone. Maybe we'd talk about stuff, there'd probably be nothing too romantic about it."

"What'd we be eating?" she asked, debating whether to accept or not, despite Willis' obviously romantic intentions.

"I—uh—ordered all of your favourites from that restaurant you like," Willis said sheepishly.

"Okay then," Mari said. "But I'm not dressing up."

"Alright!" Willis said, punching the air with enthusiasm.

* * *

"Is that going to be a thing?" Willis asked. "Because I'm _pretty_ sure I never actually punched the air excitedly."

"It's symbolic. If it wasn't such an uncool action, you totally would've been doing it," I told him. "I know things."

Kurayami wanted another story, that much was obvious, though this time I had to talk around my daughters fingers—which she decided to shove in my mouth just for laughs.

* * *

"Hey Willis," Mari said. "That pie's not going to put itself in the oven. Did you want _help_ or something?"

Willis looked at her like she was the best and brightest thing the world has ever known. "_Would _you?"

"I guess," she said confused.

"Alright!" Willis said, punching the air enthusiastically.

They put the pie in the oven in like three seconds max.

"I thought that might be more fun," Willis said with a sigh.

"Whatever," Mari said, rolling her eyes at him playfully.

"It was just weird," I said.

They both screamed.

"Hideto! When did you get here?" Mari asked.

"A week and a half ago. You took me out for a tour and then forgot I was here," I reminded her.

"Oh yeah..." Willis said sheepishly.

* * *

"They forgot you?" Makoto asked amused.

"Yep," I said, popping the 'p'. "And then they forgot about me again, right after."

* * *

"Hey Mari," Willis said. "What do you think of road trips?"

"Road trips rock," Mari said with a grin.

"Would you like to go on one?" he asked, real casual-like.

"Are you kidding me?" she said. "I'll call in to work, and tell them I can't be there for the next week or so. Where are you thinking of heading?"

"I don't know," he said happily. "Anywhere really."

"Oh! The Grand Canyon. I've never seen it. We should totally see it, right? Yeah. Go call your boss, you'll be missing work too. And pack your bags. We're heading out!"

"Alright!" Willis said, punching the air enthusiastically.

They both rushed out of the room, to get ready for their impromptu trip.

"Seriously?" I asked the empty room from my seat at the island where I was eating my bowl of cereal.

* * *

"And then I went home because I wasn't staying in that house all by myself for another week or more. I'd already been ignored my entire trip, and it wasn't worth it anymore. Plus, I really needed to get back to work..." I said. "That's all I've got for short stories. How are you now, Kurayami? Ready for the hospital, or do you need more stories?"

"I'm having a contraction now," she informed us. "Someone has to time me until I have the next one."

"Alrighty," I said. "Jou, that's your job."

"I don't know if I'd trust him," Emiko said. "He doesn't seem to be pro-babies these days."

"I'm not going to endanger a pregnant woman or her baby," Jou snapped. "I'm a professional."

"A professional _what_, exactly, sir?" Azura asked him. "You went through medical training for both humans and animals, but you never specified what you were specializing in. And you work with _digimon_, on a daily basis. Are you even qualified to work with pregnant women or children?"

"Do you know of someone else present that is _better_ qualified, if you can, I'd happily step aside," Jou said through gritted teeth. This was the dude that knocked up his daughter after all.

"It was an honest question," Azura asked. "I'm heading to veterinarian school in the fall. I'm honestly just interested in medical sciences. You don't have to take everything as a personal attack."

"It's just because of me," Emiko said. "He can't handle my current situation."

"_Our_ current situation," Azura corrected. "You're not alone, no matter what he wants you to think."

"I don't think _you_ are in any position to raise a child either," Jou said, realizing, like I did, that Azura was practically pledging himself to Emiko right here, even if neither of the kids noticed. Interesting. I filed the information away for later. They would be good together. I just didn't know if I'd be able to do anything about it.

"At least I'm willing to support her through this hard time, no matter _what_ life throws at us," Azura said, moving over to stand beside Emiko. She looked ridiculously pleased, but also quite surprised. I gathered this was due to his tenacity. He felt strongly about her, that's for sure, or else he wouldn't be so bold—it went strongly against his character, or what little I'd seen of it before. "I used to aspire to be like you, sir. It saddens me to know that's not the case anymore. I really don't want to be like you. Especially when I'm about to become a father myself."

This caused Jou to think for a moment. It looked like the kid was getting through to him. But he wasn't going to give up just yet. Momoe seemed to sense his weakening defiance and moved to back him up, but Kurayami let out a strangled gasp, alerting Jou to the appearance of another contraction.

"It's still too long to take her in," Jou said. "Soon, but not quite yet."

"Stories," Kurayami gasped. "STORIES!"

"Alright, alright," I said. "Back to Willis and Mari I guess. This was a little while later, not much, but still..."

* * *

"Hideto?" Mari asked. I whirled around and starred at her and Willis who were standing in the doorway of my bedroom.

"This is..."

"A surprise?" Willis suggested.

"Really random," I corrected. "Why are you here?"

"We, uh, looked for you at Willis' house, but realized you'd probably left while we were on our road trip," Mari said. "And we really needed to talk to you."

"You couldn't have talked to me instead of ignoring me the entire time I was there?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"We weren't ready for the conversation until now," she said.

"Alright," I said. "Shoot."

"I think we're ready to start dating," Mari blurted out.

"And I've told her repeatedly, that we've pretty much been dating for years," Willis told me.

"But we _haven't_," she said. "Not yet. But I don't know how we're going to do this. I don't know if I'm going to ruin it or not. What if _I_'m not ready? I know he is, and when we're together, I think I am too, but whenever he leaves—for work, to play with the digimon, for whatever reason—I second guess myself."

"And how am I supposed to help?" I asked.

"Am I ready," she asked. "You'd know. You always know these things."

"He didn't about himself," I heard Willis murmur. I glared at him and he shut up.

"Tell me what to do!" Mari ordered.

"If I may?"

We all screamed—mine was a very manly scream though.

* * *

"No it wasn't," Willis and Mari protested.

"It was," I insisted.

"Why'd you scream?" Chika asked.

"He'll tell us if we all shut up," Makoto told her. "He's trying to build suspense. Grown up always do that when they tell stories. They think it makes it more exciting, but all it does is draw the story out."

"Who's prolonging the story now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

* * *

Sora slipped out the now open closet door exposing my biggest secret to the world.

"Sora, what are you doing here?" Willis asked, since he was the first one to catch his breath.

"I'm avoiding Yamato," she admitted. "And I thought to myself: self, where would Yamato never go in a million years? And I found my answer: Hideto's shrine to the Teenage Wolves. And really? Genki?"

I blushed as she pointed to my signed poster of the band. "It was a phase! And I never got a replacement."

"How much did you hear?" Mari wanted to know.

"Enough," Sora said. "You're ready girlfriend. You've _been_ ready. The only thing holding you back isn't that you're not ready, it's just that you're afraid to become the girl your parents wanted. They wanted you to get married, and have a family, so you're trying to distance yourself from that possibility. But you've got a career, and you're happy. Willis makes you even happier. Don't keep yourself from that happiness just because you don't think you should give your parents satisfaction. You are a bright, young, confident girl and you don't _need_ a man. But you want one, _this_ one, and so you should take the chance and see just how much happier you can be when you—a _whole_ person—connects with Willis."

"You're right," Mari said thickly. "I've been letting my parents hold me back. I'm not going to ask how you knew about that—I only told Michael—since you're you, and you _always_ know, but thank you. That's exactly what I needed to hear."

"How long have you been in my closet...?" I asked. "I've been in my room all day. And all last night..."

"Willis," Mari asked. "Will you go out on a date with me?"

"Alright!" Willis said, punching the air enthusiastically. "I thought you'd _never_ ask."

"Seriously Sora," I said. "How long?"

"Long enough to know you have a serious obsession with Yamato's music," she said. "And long enough to know that you snore very, _very_ loudly. And that your wardrobe seriously needs some colour in it. You only own black and one God-awful Christmas sweater. You should let me fix that..."

"How did you even fit in there?" I asked. But she refused to answer. Instead she shoved me in the closet, and followed in behind me.

"Let's give them a bit of privacy," she said. "And I'll tell you my ideas for your wardrobe in the meantime."

"No," I said. "They can have privacy _outside_ of my bedroom."

Her glare shut me up quickly.

* * *

"And I was subjected to a _three_ hour lecture on the importance of varying my clothing choices," I groaned.

"Not that it worked," Sora grumbled.

"I'm so done with romance," Makoto complained. "We're kids. We don't really care."

"Speak for yourself," Louisa snapped.

"I am," he said, rolling his eyes.

"He's right though. We should switch it up. Tell us something funny!" Elliot suggested. Could that prompt _be_ anymore generic?

* * *

"Kiyoko," Kurayami said happily, resting a hand on her very pregnant belly. "It's good to see you. I'm looking forward to this week's session."

She was met by the words: "You're fat."

She was instantly surrounded by a dark shroud that shot out towards Kiyoko, and swallowed him whole. There was a very loud scream from somewhere in the darkness and Kiyoko passed out, hitting the ground with a very audible thump. He was also banned from therapy for the remaining six weeks of her pregnancy.

* * *

"_That_ is what you consider funny?" Elliot asked with a snort.

"I'm under pressure," I snapped, glancing at Kurayami.

"Tell us about a fight," Nikko ordered. "Dad wouldn't."

"I _couldn't_," Taichi complained.

"Okay..." I said wracking my brain.

* * *

"Foul ball!" Mimi screamed excitedly. "Go get it girls." She ushered Aika, Kana and Chika towards the boards, Kana lifted Chika up so she could reach better. Chika and Aika extended their gloved hands, the ball was headed straight for them, Chika stretched out just a little more, and the ball landed directly in her glove. Mimi went wild! Aika was playing off all cool like, Chika's just a little kid, she _let_ her catch it. Kana was so proud of her.

And then a lady reached over and stole the ball right out of Chika's glove.

All this happened in like ten seconds total.

"Did she really just do that?" Sora asked me affronted.

"She just stole from a five year old," Natsuni gasped. The woman's nefarious deed just replayed on the monitor. And it was on that monitor that I noticed Mimi's face. She was beyond furious. That woman just stole _her_ daughter's victory right from under her nose and there was no way Mimi was letting her get away with it.

Mimi didn't save the world for some obnoxious woman to steal from _her_ baby girl after all.

It was only another six seconds before I was falling back in my seat, cradling Izumi against my chest as Mimi flew at the woman, grabbing her by her shoulders and tackling her down to the ground. She was screaming at her and rolled her around on the ground, roughing her up, you know, general fight stuff. I watched as the ball flew from the woman's hand down the stairs, rolling to a stop. Everyone starred at it. The woman tried to get out from under Mimi to grab it, but Mimi wasn't having it! No one else dared to take the ball—afraid Mimi might attack them next. Also, I'm pretty sure they were just as disgusted by the woman's thievery as we were, it was like taking candy from a baby. Who does that? Even _I_ didn't do that as part of Alias III. And we were _evil_.

The security team arrived, and it took _three_ of them to pry Mimi away from the woman—and _keep_ her away. You don't mess with mama bear's cub. And then the woman had the audacity to walk over to the ball to claim it for herself. What a b—_witch_.

"That doesn't belong to you," Kana said firmly. "You _stole _it. And stealing is _wrong_."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she sneered. "I won it fair and square."

"I'll show you fair," Aika growled. She ran up and kicked the woman in the shins, causing her to drop the ball again. Aika caught it though, and the woman grabbed her arm hard, to keep her from escaping with it, but Aika thought quickly, and threw the ball back to Chika, who caught it—barely—and was sporting the widest grin I'd ever seen.

"Unhand my daughter," Sora told the lady as calmly as could be—yet it was still the most terrifying thing I think I've ever heard.

"She stole _my_ ball," the woman said, as if that excused her behaviour.

"She got it the same way you did," Kana said. "Fair and square, didn't you say?"

"That's my girl," Natsuni said proudly.

"Unhand the child madam," the security officer said. "I'll have to ask you to leave."

"In your face mean lady," Aika shouted excitedly.

"I'll actually be asking _all_ of you to leave," he said sheepishly. "You caused quite the disturbance."

"What did _I_ do?" I asked, catching Izumi before she fell off my lap. She was very interested in the game still going on below.

"Exactly," Mimi said glaring at me. "You didn't do anything. What good is it having an evil friend if they can't defend your daughter?"

"I'm reformed," I said, sticking my nose in the air, before we all burst out laughing.

* * *

"Did they really kick you out?" Makoto asked his mom, looking at her in a whole new light.

"You betcha they did," she said proudly. "I didn't care. I'd do anything for you kids. We only went because Hideto suggested it anyway."

"And Aika and Izumi were the only ones upset about leaving," Natsuni added. I winced, remembering the hours of crying I had to endure for leaving before Izumi was ready.

"But hey," Kana said with a grin. "We got to keep the ball!"

"What's next," Kurayami forced out. She looked to be having another contraction. With any luck, this next one could be my last story! I just needed something long enough.

"I want mommy," Shouta said, leaning his head back into Sora and smiling at her. "I like mommy."

"And I love you," Sora said kissing the top of his head.

Sora huh? That could work. I'd just have to pick up where Michael left off.

"Okay...so this'll be about Sora soon, kiddo. But Yamato came to me for advice first..."

* * *

"Sigh," Yamato said. "Sora, Sora, Sora, Sora, Sora..."

* * *

"Um..." Yamato interrupted. "No."

"I was paraphrasing. Oh, you want the _actual_ conversation? I guess I can do that," I sighed. It was too easy to rile him up. "But this is only going to work if no one interrupts me until there's a reasonable gap in the story. I liked Mari's storytelling. No one bothered her. Do that." There was some general agreement. I went with it.

* * *

"I don't know what to do," Yamato sighed, falling into a seat beside me. I was confused. Since when did he have a key to my house? Since when did he even _visit_? I thought he was afraid of me, because of my..._collection_. Sora seemed to agree with me though, so really, why was he there?

"About what?" I prompted, still confused.

"About Sora," he said exasperatedly. "Do I ever need help with anything other than her?"

"Probably," I said. "I could help with writing songs, if you'd like."

"No," he said flatly. "Just the Sora thing. Thanks."

"What about her?" I asked. "Are you mad that she moved on from you and has a steady—if slightly ridiculous—boyfriend, and doesn't need you anymore? Maybe you're thinking about the fact that she doesn't want you, and hasn't wanted you for years. Seriously, years. Why haven't you moved on yet dude?"

"You don't understand. Douche is a horrible boyfriend. She deserves someone way better. Better to her, to her friends. Someone that can accept that Biyomon is a legitimate part of who Sora is," he said.

"Someone like..._you?_" I guessed.

"I'd like that. God I'd _love _that. But I'm not what she wants. I'm not good enough anyway. If I was, she would've already accepted me, and we'd be together now. But I can't sit by while she's dating that horrible person," he complained righteously.

"Cut the crap Yamato," I said bluntly. "I did that once. The whole, I'm not good enough thing, and it turns out that _wasn't_ what Kiyoko thought. It was me forcing my own inner thoughts on myself into the equation. You don't think you're good enough for her. And so you're forcing yourself to move on. You love her. That's enough. It's not _you_ that's the problem and you know it. You're just trying to be the good guy and are using an excuse for her. She doesn't need that. She doesn't deserve that. She deserves honesty. It's why she and Neo worked so well while they lasted. He gave her self confidence, and he never lied. Those are the two things she's going to need from a relationship. The only reason none of the other ones have worked though, is because _you_ weren't the other half of it. She needs you. I can see it, you can see it, _everyone_ can see it. Except her."

"And how do I tell her?" he demanded. "I've tried before. I can't do this anymore. She keeps turning me down. She won't change her mind."

"Then change it for her!" I told him. "She doesn't know what she needs. She's only thinking about what she feels she deserves. The two don't match. You need to make her see what she's worth to everyone else. Even if it means ruining her relationship with Douche when she thinks she's happy in it. She deserves better than him. She deserves _you_. But it's up to you to prove that to her."

"Any advice?" he asked.

"Don't insult her intelligence, don't order her to do anything, suggest it casually. Make her think it's her idea. I heard somewhere that chocolate is her kryptonite. Use that to your advantage. Do _not _bring flowers. And don't wrap the chocolate in a bow or something. She can't see it as a romantic gesture. She's in a relationship—aren't_ you_ in a relationship. What about your girlfriend?"

"I, uh, forgot about her," Yamato said sheepishly.

"Well, you're clearly not in love with her. Ditch her then. Just do it. Quick and painless, like a Band-Aid. Sora's not going to want you if you're dating someone else. She's not like that. So make yourself available," I said.

He nodded, taking his phone out and calling his girlfriend. I cringed at the idea of breaking up with her over the phone, but realized...I really didn't care. So whatever. When he finished with that—the bluntest break-up I'd ever witnessed—I followed him at a distance, since I knew he was going to disregard everything I'd just said.

* * *

"Really?" Yamato whined. "I'm trustworthy."

"Sure you are," I said, rolling my eyes. "Now shut up."

"Ha," Aika laughed. "Dad got in trouble."

* * *

He totally went to Douche's house to have this talk thing. I guess he forgot that Sora lived there too, since he was a bit off kilter until the maid revealed that Douche wasn't on the premise. I winked at the maid when I slipped in after him, and tangled myself up with the curtains before Yamato caught sight of me. Sora came down from upstairs a minute later, having been fetched by the maid.

"Yamato," she gasped. "What a surprise."

"Hi," he said awkwardly. They were silent for a good long while.

"Why don't you tell me whatever it is you need to tell me," she said quickly. "Before Douche gets back. I think that'll make things easier."

"Okay. Sora," he said and paused. "You need to deal with things instead of running away all the time." Then he put a box of chocolates, all heart shaped, with a big red, frilly bow on top, down on the coffee table. He just didn't listen!

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sora said. "I don't run from problems."

"Yes you do," he snapped. "You're always playing the victim or whatever, claiming that no one loves you—you do realize I proposed to you, right? I wanted to marry you. I still do. I love you."

Did he even realize I'd given him instructions at all?

"If you truly loved me, you never would have joined Fanglongmon's team," Sora argued. Now, I couldn't be sure, but it sounded like she was dragging ancient history into the argument. That meant she actually didn't have any good reason to fight him. That meant this was actually winnable.

"So I trotted off to the dark side for a little stroll around Central Park—which in this case happened to be a giant hole in the ground where the satanic forces of the Digital World lived. I didn't stop thinking about you the whole time!" Yamato informed her.

"Oh really?" Sora said, mock swooning. "I'm _so_ happy, now we can be together!"

"You're being a child," Yamato said flatly.

Yep. He wasn't going to win this after all.

"And you're being unreasonable," Sora said with just as much force. "I don't care how often you thought of me and I don't care how immature I am in this scenario, because I will stand by what my gut told me. I will never love you again, Yamato. Ever."

"You're not going to love me simply because Fanglongmon gave a convincing argument? At least I didn't move on from you. What more proof do you need that I love you?"

"You didn't move on?" Sora snapped. "What about Katsue? What about your girlfriend!"

"Katsue was to make you jealous," he said bluntly.

"And your girlfriend?"

"Not in the picture anymore," he said. "I tried to force myself to move on when it was clear you had. But it was wrong. It all felt wrong. I don't want anyone else. I just want you. Can't you believe me?"

"No," Sora said with a sense of finality. "But it's not you that I don't believe in. It's love. At least romantic love. It's just a mess of emotions that people confuse for happiness and trust. But that's a lie. Every time I look at you, I feel my heart seize up, and my head starts spinning and I want to punch you in the face, and I want to curl up next to you. This mess, this love, it's not real though. It can't be."

"Sora, you're scared—and you're forcing yourself not to feel anything just because of that fear. The fear of being hurt again, but _trust _me. I would never hurt you."

"But you _did_!"

Wow. He was ignoring all of my advice, and she was far more stubborn than I gave her credit for. This was going nowhere.

"I didn't," Yamato countered. "I followed Fanglongmon for awhile. Yes. But I never stopped loving you. I never stopped thinking about you. And I _never_ did anything to hurt you. That was never my intention. I waited _years_ for you to love me. And I've waited _years_ for you to come back to me, waiting for you to find yourself, and I would wait a thousand more years, but I can't just sit back and let you make a fool of yourself as you waste your life away pretending that you don't believe in love when we all know you do. You're dating the most horrible guy I've ever seen in my life, _just_ because you won't relax and love yourself enough to let this happen. Or you could just let _me_ love you until you learned to love yourself."

"Yamato," Sora said, starting to cry. Maybe he could get through to her after all. "I—I _can't_. Relationships are like tobogganing."

"What are you even—" Yamato started, mimicking my thoughts exactly.

"You look at the fluffy untouched hill of white snow and it looks inviting, fun to play in. But then you go down and the path becomes smoother and smoother until it becomes easier. You went down the path that hurt me and now I know that the path is smoother and it'll be easier fo you to go down. It will draw you toward it and you'll go further. Just like tobogganing. I can't give myself to someone that would willingly hurt me."

"Why do you keep _saying_ that?" Yamato snapped.

"Because it's easier than saying the truth," Sora said. But there was something in her voice. A note of insincerity. Interesting.

"And what's the truth?" Yamato asked. "Because Douche can—and probably _will_—hurt you far more than you think I did."

"We weren't working anyway, Yamato," Sora said, wincing at the mention of Douche. "I broke up with you because I gave you that out. I didn't want to get married and if I said no, we would've fallen apart. Don't deny it—you know it's true. We weren't working, so I gave you your ultimatum. Me or leaving. And I knew that's what you'd pick. So there. That's the truth. I manipulated you into giving me the opportunity to break up with you."

"Yeah, I don't believe you," Yamato said.

"I don't care if you believe me," Sora said, lying again.

"Okay, just tell me this before I go," Yamato said. "Why Douche? What can he _possibly_ give you that I didn't. Or couldn't?"

She didn't answer at all.

"Why can't you stop thinking about me?" he asked on his way out the door.

"I don't know," she whispered after he'd left. "Hideto, get out of there. I can see you."

"Oh, you got caught!" Elliot teased.

* * *

"No one can eavesdrop on the master," Sora joked.

"I suppose there's a reason you're here?" she asked.

* * *

"I'm here because I knew he'd screw that up. He can never think straight when you're around," I said. "And I was right. He did a lot of things wrong. But the points he was making? They were all spot on."

"Not you too," she said.

"Yes. You can rant and rave all you want. It won't change the fact that Yamato is your Prince Charming, and there're only so many times he's going to try that damn shoe on your foot before he finally just packs up and makes due with an evil stepsister. You can't keep pushing him away. Not because it's hurting him—which it is. But for yourself. I can see that every time you talk you get a glimmer in your eye. And you flinch whenever the conversation ends and he leaves you behind. Wouldn't you rather have that glimmer all the time than feel like crap?" I demanded.

"I don't deserve it!" she screamed at me. "Look at me! I'm a mess. A complete mess. I've always been one. I'll always _be_ one. No one deserves that. And I don't deserve him. I can't take him down with me. He's a rock star. He's lived his dream. And it's only because we broke up that he got that chance. His producer hated his songs. Yamato hated them. But his big break came when he started writing those break-up songs. He needed to ditch me to succeed."

"No one likes those songs except the producer," I yelled back. I wasn't backing down. It felt like I was facing off against myself, and I needed to win this fight. I needed to prove to Neo that I understood his lessons. That I _wasn't_ worthless like everyone always thought. And neither was she! "Everyone knows the Teenage Wolves were better as an Indie band. When their songs had heart in them and weren't written by a miserable shadow of a man. His _career_ might thank you. But what good is success when you can't share it with someone?"

"He could find a girlfriend, one that fits with him," Sora argued. "He's just not trying."

"Because he's devoted to you. He loves you. He's always loved you. Probably always will. And he's not the only one. Biyomon loves you. She misses you too. She doesn't get to see you very much anymore, does she? No. Because you're always off with Douche—the punishment you inflicted upon yourself for no reason whatsoever. You're a beautiful person Sora. I can see why Yamato never runs out of things to sing about you. I can. But I don't like you. Not anymore at least. You made Kiyoko feel good about himself. You trusted him when no one else could. You accepted Neo when no one else believed in him. You're the voice of reason for so many people and you don't believe it," I told her. "I don't understand that. Because no one, _no one_, ever told you that you weren't worth it. Nobody ever said no one could ever love you. And do you know why?"

"Why?" she asked, tears running down her cheeks.

"Because it's not true," I told her. "And even if someone had said it. It _still_ wouldn't be true. You are perfect when you're being true to yourself. I miss that girl. The one that would drop everything in a second if it meant she could help a friend. The girl that fought for what she believed in, so much so that she'd stand against her friends if that's what it took. The girl that forgave everyone their shortcomings so long as they planned to help the right side in the end. Everyone except Yamato. Why is that? Why not him? You couldn't tell him, but tell me. I'm not afraid of hurting a little if it'll help heal you in the end. He_ is_. But not me."

"I don't know! Okay," she shouted. "I've never known. I just hated that he'd do that. It didn't bother me nearly as much when Taichi was a jerk to Hikari when he was dating me. I didn't even notice. It didn't bother me nearly enough when Kiyoshi cheated on me. Or when it turned out that Neo was evil. None of that mattered as much as Yamato joining Fanglongmon. _That_ was the ultimate betrayal."

"That is hypocritical," I pointed out. "You're a hypocrite. Everyone other than Yamato can do their very worst to you or anyone else, and it doesn't matter, but Yamato? Considering you'll "never love him again" that's wrong. Unless you were _lying_?"

"And if I was? What would it matter? I gave up on him. I told him I wouldn't, now that's what he'll believe. And I'm alone again. I'm always alone," she cried.

"Then stand up and fight for what you want. Write a song for him, it worked on me! And he could really use one. It doesn't have to be a song, but do _something_! Prove to him that you _do_ still love him. Or else you'll be stuck with the pompous, narcissistic, arrogant, bastard Douche for the rest of your life. And _that_ is a punishment I wouldn't have wished on Yggdrasil, never mind _you_," I told her. "Eat the chocolate, don't mind the bow. I'd recommend eating them before Douche sees them. He might think they're a gift from one of his 'many admirers'."

* * *

"And then I left," I finished.

"You just yelled at her," Yamato said. "After instructing me _not_ to?"

"I wasn't trying to date her," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Arrgh!" Kurayami shouted. "That's a contraction. What's the time Jou?"

"Almost there," Jou said. "We can go soon. Just...I'll time to the next one too. Then we'll see if it's time. Okay?"

"Fine," Kurayami gasped. "Just keep me entertained."

"Me? Again?" I groaned.

"Now!" she pleaded.

"Fine," I said. Though I didn't like it.

* * *

Tenshi is kind of a musical prodigy, right? You know, he's a whiz with a cello, and he doesn't put a lot of effort into it, because he wants to be a photographer someday, and music is just a hobby, something he does on the side, but we all go to all of his recitals and school concerts anyway, and cheer him on, because seriously, the kid has talent.

You all know that, obviously, what you might _not_ know, is that I once found Hiro nearly crying in the hallway of one of those concerts, when I left on a quest to find the bathroom—and succeeded in that quest too, thank you very much. So I stopped to talk to him, figure out what was wrong, and he was feeling inferior, which is actually my specialty, so I talked to him about it, and he was just really upset because he didn't have a special talent that could be praise-worthy the way Tenshi's was. So we worked out a plan: find Hiro's hidden talent.

We found out the kid's memory is like an elephants—he forgets _nothing_. But that wasn't exactly the same level as a cello concert, and unless everyone wanted to sit around while he recited stuff from memory... We decided to keep looking.

He was _not_ a gymnast. Kid could barely touch his toes. But we discovered he _was_ very good at eating his feelings away. Very good at it. He ate fourteen cupcakes in under five minutes. We figured we could enter him in an eating contest someday if we couldn't think up something better.

But in the meantime, there was another concert to sit through, and Tenshi was having an off day. Like a _really_ off day. He was missing notes left and right. Some people in the audience in front of Hiro and I were gleefully criticising Tenshi's performance, turns out they were the parents of one of his rivals in the cello community, even though Tenshi totally didn't realize he even _had_ a rival.

When Tenshi played his final off-key note of his performance, the entire audience was silent. I could see Tenshi's hands shaking, and he was so nervous _I_ could feel it. But still, there was silence. It remained that way until Hiro stood up and put a big grin on his face, shouting "Good job, Tenshi!" and started clapping with all his might. I followed suit, as did Hikari and Takeru, soon all of us were up and clapping, and other audience members joined in.

"You want to try to find another talent later?" I offered.

"No," Hiro said. "I don't think I need one."

"I think you've already got one," I told him. And it was true. Kid was like freaking sunshine or something. Everybody loves him.

* * *

"Not _everybody_," Hiro said, his face completely red.

"You've got lots of talents," Tenshi told his brother.

"Maybe," Hiro said. "But they're not as cool as yours."

"What's next?" Kurayami asked, sounding relatively calm for once. I caught sight of Renjiro, and remembered what I spotted one time as I strolled through the woods outside Taichi's house...

* * *

Renjiro was giggling behind a tree, watching and waiting as Nikko and Elliot—thick as the thieves they were—came running over the hill with their stolen goodies in their hands.

"I can't believe she didn't notice!" Nikko was saying.

"I know," Elliot gloated. "We took them right from under her nose! How many did you get?"

"Three," Nikko said proudly.

"I got two," Elliot said sounding a little upset. "But that's okay. She didn't see us so she can't take them away."

"I can split one with you so we get the same," Nikko offered.

"Okay!" Elliot said, sounding much happier. "Two and a half cookies. What a loot."

"We'd be such good pirates," Nikko said excitedly.

Renjiro giggled again as they ran right into his trap. They tripped over the vine he'd strung between two trees, and their cookies went flying right into Renjiro's lap where he was hidden behind a bush.

"What'd you trip me for," Nikko complained to Elliot.

"I didn't trip you," Elliot protested. "You tripped _me_."

"Nu-uh."

"Uh-huh."

What's going on?" Emiko asked, as she crouched down by her brother.

"I'm stealing their cookies," Renjiro said. "And they don't suspect me. That's good right? That's a good prank?"

"Well, I would've had a giant mud patch covered with feathers and then buried with a layer of crunchy leaves waiting for them when they fall," she said. "At the very least. And if I was feeling really ambitious, I might've dug a giant hole, filled it with rocks and sticks, and then covered it with a tarp, waiting for them to go crashing through it."

"But they'd get hurt," Renjiro pointed out.

"Maybe," Emiko said. "But that's the price of genius pranks."

"Wow," Renjiro laughed. "You're so scary."

"I know. Now give some of those cookies. There's like five right? So I get four," Emiko said.

"Sounds fair," Renjiro said, handing over the majority of his catch.

"I know," Emiko said. "Prank ya later, turd."

* * *

"You mean there're _two _of them," Jou moaned.

"How could I have missed it?" Momoe thought aloud.

The kids were a different story though. "You stole my cookies!" Nikko shouted.

"Mine too!" Elliot added.

"I believe they were mine," Rei said firmly. "I'm glad you didn't get to eat them."

"But Mom," Nikko whined.

"MORE!" Kurayami cried.

* * *

"Hurry up!" Haruki shouted through the bathroom door. It was Halloween and he was itching to get out for some serious trick-or-treating. He was wearing goggles on his head and had the craziest clothing anyone had ever seen, claiming he was going as Daisuke, from his first trip to the Digital World. Several of the Digidestined understood that reference—I did not. Daisuke however, was both pleased that his son thought so highly of him, and offended that his son thought he'd ever dressed so horribly.

"You can't rush perfection," Mai snarled.

"Okay," he said defensively.

"Sorry! I'm just getting into character," she apologized through the door.

"What are you even going as?" he wanted to know.

"My father," she said. "Hence my haircut. I'm just having trouble with the gel..."

"I don't wear gel..." Ken said slowly.

"No," Mai said, sliding the door open, revealing her costume. "But you _did_."

"No way!" Haruki gasped. "The Digimon Kaiser!"

"You wouldn't believe how much work it took too," Mai said. "I had to dig through Dad's old computer at Grandma's place and find the files he deleted—thinking they were gone forever, how cute—reinstate them, print them off, find material I could work with, suffer _hours_ of sewing lessons with my _other_ Grandma, hunt down a pair of useable sunglasses, get a haircut, and finally get creative with gel. Now I'm going to have to hold your hand the whole time, because the Kaiser didn't wear glasses, so I can't either."

"Wow," Haruki said. "I just dug through the lost and found at school and picked out the stuff no one would be caught dead wearing. Now I feel underdressed..."

"Well, we can't _all_ be perfect," Mai said with an evil cackle.

Ken—who'd been silently staring in horror at his daughter up until this point—looked her up and down and shook his head. "Rude," was all he said, and he went inside to hang with his pregnant wife, leaving Daisuke to take Osamu and Mai out for Halloween without him.

* * *

"Dad stole all her candy too," Osamu said. "He said it was punishment for trivializing such a horrible moment in his past."

"It was worth it," Mai said with a grin. "I totally won best costume. Hands down."

"Okay...what's next...?" I questioned myself, not expecting an answer.

"Me!" the twins shouted together. I looked at Iris and Madlyn and almost came up blank...but I remembered the first time Louisa babysat them.

* * *

"Okay, our numbers are on the fridge, if you need us. They're a bit of a handful..." Mari said concernedly.

"She's eleven Mari," Willis said. "Relax. She knows what she's doing. And the girls love her. I trust you Louisa. You'll be fine."

"No problem," Louisa said cheerily. "I'm going to be the very best babysitter I can be. They won't even notice you're gone!"

"They will," Mari assured her. "And they'll cry. They always do. But it should only be for twenty minutes at most. Then they'll want to play."

"Okie-dokie!" Louisa said excitedly.

And then Mari and Willis left.

* * *

"That's it?" Louisa asked sadly.

"I only know what I was there for," I pointed out. "I came back with them. There's more, just none of that in between stuff."

* * *

"Why is it so dark?" I asked as we walked into Willis' living room. Mari flicked the light switch on and we were met with a horrible sight. Everything had been knocked over, a vase had been shattered. Broken toys were scattered all over the floor. Blankets and pillows were tossed willy-nilly.

"What the hell?" Mari gasped.

"I guess they were too much for her after all," Willis said.

We continued exploring only to find the kitchen in near ruins, and the table in the dining room was on its side, with the chairs spread around the end with the legs. Blankets were thrown over top to create a fort. Peeking inside, I found the girls.

"They're in here!" I hollered. Iris opened her eyes from where she was curling around Louisa's torso and shushed me angrily.

"Sleepin!" she scolded.

"Yup, yup," Madlyn slurred in her sleep. She was curled around Louisa's knees. Louisa looked absolutely exhausted. Iris snuggled back in to sleep, and we just left them there, calling Michael to tell him we kidnapped his daughter, and everything worked out alright.

"I'm not a bad babysitter," Louisa said quickly. "It just seems like it. But I'm not. There was just _two_ of them. And they're never in the same spot, playing the same game. They were pulling me too many directions! But I have more experience now. I could totally do a better job next time. I promise!"

"We know," Willis said rolling his eyes. "You'll be the first one we call if we're ever stuck."

"MORE!" Kurayami cried out, shaking her head at Jou who thought it was a contraction and was about to hightail it out of here and drag her to a hospital. I sighed knowing there'd be plenty of stories before I was finally finished.

"Babysitting...there are more babysitting stories," I realized. "Okay..."

* * *

"Are you sure we're allowed to do this?"

"Of course we are. Mom and Dad left _me_ in charge. That means their totally expecting us to do something like this, and by not telling me I'm not allowed, they allowed it."

"Don't you have enough data yet?"

"Shut up. They're coming! I told you this would be an interesting social experiment."

"Interesting...yeah..."

I peeked around the column separating me from the front door of the cafe. I knew those voices. Mai and Osamu. And I was right. There they were, busy pushing a baby carriage holding their baby brother Taro.

"Hey guys," I said slowly. "What'cha doing?"

"Nothing," Mai and Osamu said quickly.

"Yeah, like I'm buying _that_," I said with a smirk. "So I'll ask again" what'cha doing?"

"Mai wanted to test the ability a baby possesses to draw a crowd," Osamu recited from memory.

"Yup," Mai said proudly. "And it's working really well. So far my theory is proving to be correct. Everybody flocks to babies. More so, however, when a child is pushing it, then they do when Mom is. It's all quite interesting."

"And your mother's okay with you experimenting with her new baby?" I asked.

"What she doesn't know can't hurt her," Mai suggested, waggling her eyebrows at me. A girl after my own heart. So I agreed to say nothing so long as they called me if they got into a pickle.

"The end," I said happily.

* * *

"You what!" Miyako screamed.

"Please wait," Kurayami pleaded. "Yell _after_ the stories. _Please_."

"Fine," Miyako growled. "But we _will_ have words."

"Thanks a lot, Hideto," Mai muttered sarcastically.

"Don't blame me," I said defensively. "I'm the one running out of material here."

Babysitting...babysitting...there was something else... Oh yeah.

* * *

"Thanks for taking him," Sora said. "I didn't know where else to look for a sitter. He's such a shy baby, he probably won't talk to you, or say anything at all really. And he _knows_ you. Imagine how betrayed he'd feel if I left him with a stranger."

"Don't get him to join your hate club," Yamato warned.

"He's a baby," Sora hissed. "He's not joining _any_ clubs."

"I disbanded that ages ago," I said. "Right after your reunion-under-a-different-name tour. You know, when your music stopped sucking."

"Whatever," Yamato said. "Just...avoid my music altogether."

"Will do," Kiyoko promised.

"Avoid chocolate too," Sora added.

"Is he allergic?" I wanted to know, looking at the year and a half year old in my arms—perfectly calm and behaved and everything.

"No, nothing like that," she said. "Just don't give it to him. You two should be alright. I trust you. Well, I trust Kiyoko. You saved my life. I know I can trust you with my son's."

"No problem," we said. And they finally left, taking their daughter with them, who was glaring at us the entire time. Pretty much the moment they left we were feeding the kid chocolate just to see what it would do. Nothing happened—at first. We figured they were just watching what they fed him or something, but no. It took ten minutes to activate. And it was like kryptonite in the way it sucked the calm and well mannered behaviour out of this kid. He was a real wild child.

"What did we do?" Kiyoko and I asked ourselves, watching as the kid jumped on the couch chattering away a million words a minute.

"I like blue. Blue is good. You like blue? I do too"—random stuff like that. He wasn't very old. I was surprised how well he spoke, considering. We learned he liked blue, giraffes, but not elephants, he like rubber boots and picture books, and jumping in puddles and running around in circles. We took him to the park, letting him run around there, hoping to burn off the chocolate induced high before his parents came to collect him.

Eventually—six hours later, mind you—he _did_ crash, just in time for Yamato and Sora to make an appearance. They seemed surprised by how exhausted the kid was, but we totally played up our babysitting abilities as the cause, and they left.

"I want to do that again," Kiyoko said.

"Me too," I agreed. "I'm going to miss him."

"We should have a baby," he said suddenly. "Someday."

"Someday," I agreed.

* * *

"And just over a year later, we had a daughter of our own," I said with a grin.

"Contraction?" Jou wanted to know.

"What even _is_ a contraction?" Emiko asked.

"You'll know soon," Kiyoko said. "It's what your body will do when the baby is ready to come out. They hurt a lot. And they leave a lot of women begging for drugs to dull the pain, but a lot of women chose to forgo the drugs in favour of a natural birth."

"Like you _even_ know what you're talking about," Sora said, rolling her eyes. "You're just trying to scare her because you're on Jou's side."

"He's not entirely wrong," Koushiro pointed out.

"But it was really insensitive to talk about that to a pregnant girl and a woman currently in labour," Sora told him. "He just wants Emiko to lose the fight between her and her dad. But she won't. Because I won't let her."

"Is this about the picking a side thing from earlier?" I asked.

"You bet it is," Sora said fiercely. "Don't think I didn't notice where you two ended up."

"I just wanted to even out the numbers," Kiyoko said nervously. "I really don't think it's my business to involve myself in family matters."

"And I don't even _have_ an opinion on the matter," I agreed. "Just wanted the teams to have mostly even numbers."

"Oh," Sora said. "And I'd worked myself up for a fight and everything."

"Don't think we forgot you fed our kid chocolate after we expressly told you not to," Yamato said.

"We could fight about that!" Sora said excitedly.

"Another day!" Kurayami screamed at her. "I'm getting closer with every story, and until they stop working to distract me, you better keep telling them!"

"On it!" I said and honestly I was a little scared.

* * *

Kiyoko and I were feeding Izumi her breakfast, taking turns at having her spitting the food back out at us so we'd _both_ have to change before work. It was a lot easier than arguing about who'd have the 'honour' of feeding her. It made things faster in the morning. And Kiyoko is _not_ a morning person. He's pretty grouchy actually...but I digress. Point is, she was in a high chair when she finally said her first word.

"Da'!" she said happily.

Kiyoko and I both dropped the spoons we'd been using to feed her.

"Did you hear that?" I asked.

"She said Dad!" he cheered.

"She meant me," we both clarified at the same time.

* * *

"We fought for awhile about it, but decided it was our own fault for not actually giving her any other word to work with so she could differentiate the two of us," Kiyoko said sheepishly.

"She still meant me," I said with a smirk.

"In your dreams," he countered. We grinned, and Izumi squirmed in my lap, trying to find a comfy position to—hopefully—sleep in. I didn't wait for Kurayami to prompt me, as I realized I'd talked about ever last kid here, except one... not that I really had a great story about him...

* * *

"We have to go this way!" Makoto said happily. The four year old toddled off into the bushes.

"Why?" Koushiro asked.

"I know in my heart that it's this way," Makoto said pleased with himself.

"Because that makes sense," Koushiro muttered sarcastically.

"What?" Makoto asked with a silly grin.

"Nothing," Koushiro said quickly.

"It makes me sad when you lie to me," Makoto confessed. "You just did it. And now I'm sad."

"I'm just confused as to why you feel the need to favour one direction more than any other," Koushiro explained once Makoto burst into tears. He really was an emotional kid. He wore his heart on his sleeve, that one. "Your digimon could be anywhere in the entirety of the Digital World, why this one direction?"

"My heart s-says s-so," Makoto said sniffling. "He's there. I can feel him."

"Then we'll look," Koushiro said. "Hopefully not _all_ day."

"We can't!" Makoto said. "I have school!"

"You have playgroup, which is not school," Koushiro corrected.

"It makes me feel smarter to call it school," Makoto said.

"It's _summer_ though..." Koushiro commented.

"I like to be smart," Makoto said. "Like you."

Even Koushiro could feel touched, and he did then, when his son praised the idea of knowledge. It was due his feeling of pride that he couldn't catch his son's hand when Makoto disappeared down a hole. He dropped to the ground quickly though, looking down the hole to see that Makoto was still okay.

"Makoto!" he yelled. "Are you alright?"

"No," Makoto said. "I have a bump on my head. And I am wet. And I feel very scared."

"Me too," came a whimpering voice. "I've been stuck down here forever! Since I was a Yuramon even."

"A Tanemon. Dad I found a Tanemon," Makoto said happily. "He's been here a long time! How long?"

"A whole _three days_," Tanemon moaned. "Almost my whole life! You took a long time to find me."

"He was waiting for me Dad! Me! My heart was right. I _did_ know where to find him," Makoto cheered. "Now get me out. My bum's all wet."

* * *

"That was surprisingly accurate," Koushiro said.

"You're surprised?" Emiko said. "You guys all have scary good memories."

"No, it's surprising. He wasn't there for it," Koushiro said looking at me suspiciously.

"I'm running out of stories! Why do you guys think I have so many? Please tell me it's time to get her to the freaking hospital," I whined. "I can't keep doing this! I'm exhausted."

Kurayami nearly screamed as the latest contraction hit. Jou looked worriedly at his clock. It looked like he didn't think it was time to go, but with the way she was sounding...

"I think we're going to take her now," he decided. "But we can't take all the kids. That's just not plausible. Some of us are going to have to stay with them, Hideto, you can keep telling them stories, keep them distracted. And we'll let you know when everyone's settled so you can bring them."

"I have a suggestion," I said. "Take me with you, and let someone _else_ tell them stories."

"No," Louisa said. "You haven't finished the story about Sora and Yamato yet. And I'm sure there's _something_ else you could tell us about."

"You _are_ much more candid about your stories than the others," Mai agreed.

"Votes in," Jou said. "You're staying."

"I'm staying too," Rei said. "I'll just be more of a hassle than helpful."

"Okay, Rei can stay with Tatum, Natsuni, Willis, and Alias III," Jou said. "And Yamato and Sora. Is that enough?"

"It's plenty," Sora said quickly. "Just get her to the hospital."

"On it," Jou said. Koushiro and Taichi went ahead to inform the Temple that there'd be a lot of traveling between worlds going on for the next few hours, and Labramon digivolved into Cerberumon to carry Kurayami to the Temple, with Daisuke holding her steady on her digimon's back.

Soon they were all gone, leaving me with a lesser audience, which I was thankful for...until I was met with their awaiting eyes. I groaned. What more could _I_ tell them. Was there anything else I knew that they didn't?

Huh.

There was always Neo...

* * *

Neo and I were headed to the Temple, to drop our partners off at Knight Training—okay, I was dropping them off, Neo had to stay since he trained them and all... Anyway they'd been accepted as official members and it was kind of awesome. Although it kind of felt like dropping our children off at playgroup, since Agumon and Gabumon insisted that we had to deliver them, in case they got lost along the way. I guess it was understandable, since my digimon hadn't been in the Digital World with any degree of permanency since they became my partners. They legitimately could have gotten lost...

Anyway, it was what happened _at_ the Temple, or who we saw there, that makes this otherwise domesticated event interesting.

See, the Knights had another member. Taichi was the only one that knew anything about him, which I found odd, since Neo was the one Taichi placed in charge of Knight Training, but whatever. Taichi was doing his 'I know something but I don't want to share it' thing again, and we didn't know anything about where this new Knight had come from, why he was so powerful, what made Taichi think he ought to join the ranks in the first place...anything really. He was kind of a loner at Training too. He didn't talk to the other digimon, didn't offer to share anything about himself, despite the onslaught of over sharing my two digimon were doing. All _I_ knew was that he never stayed in the same area of the Digital World for long, and that he was constantly breaking up fights before they could become major problems.

What I didn't know, was that he actually had a human partner.

And my God was she beautiful.

* * *

"You too?" Kiyoko asked, narrowing his eyes at me. I rolled mine at him, and elbowed him gently, assuring him he had nothing to worry about. I could _feel_ Neo glaring jokingly at me.

"You mean?!" Louisa cheered. "It's her! It's Evelen. I love her."

* * *

"You never tell me anything that's goes on here," she was complaining. "Promise me you'd tell me if they were annoying you. Or trying to team up on you. Don't ever let them pressure you."

Her digimon was silent, but nodded.

"Good," she said smiling brightly at him. "I trust you. I don't trust _them_, but you, I do."

I'd finally noticed that Neo had disappeared from my side and turned to find him staring transfixed at this beautiful woman. I got the feeling it wasn't the first time he'd seen her. It was like Christmas had come early. And then she caught sight of _him_ too, the two of them just staring at each other, smiling...it was unnerving. It was like I didn't exist anymore. I didn't like it. But at the same time...I did. Not for being invisible, but because of the potential I could _feel_ around these two.

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you again," she said.

"I work here, so yeah," he replied. "But I didn't expect to see _you_. Not here anyway."

"My partner was invited. This is Gankoomon," she introduced him. "I'm glad you finally saw his potential."

"I didn't," Neo said, sticking his foot in his mouth with that whole honesty thing.

"That's too bad," she said slowly. "I was so thankful that you invited him to join such an elite team. I guess my thanks belong elsewhere."

"I train him," Neo said, using the same tone she was. Suddenly I felt like I should be anywhere but there. I was all for spying on budding relationships and giving them a push, but it was like I'd crossed a line. Like they'd been dating for years—though I knew they hadn't because Neo never lies and I had an annoying habit of asking him if he was seeing anyone on a weekly basis—and I was intruding on some private moment. "That must count for something."

"Maybe," she said, stepping closer to the two of us. She placed a hand on Neo's shoulder. "Take care of him. I don't want to come back to find him destroying the place. That's _your_ gig, if I remember correctly."

I winced, expecting Neo to respond negatively, but was quite confused when he just smirked at her.

"It might be tough," he said.

"Just try your best," she said, taking her hand away from him in the most lingering way I'd ever seen, before walking away. Neo totally starred after her as she left, watching her leave, the gentle sway of her hips—like she wasn't trying to be attractive, she just _was_—and listening to the clicking of her heels until she was out of sight.

"Well, okay, time to get started," Neo called, completely over the whole moment instantaneously.

"Seriously?" I asked. "You're not even going to get her number?"

"No," he said.

"Chase after that girl!" I ordered.

"No," he told me. "Now it's time to leave. I've got some training to do."

* * *

"NOOOOO!" Louisa cried, like the world was ending. "They are _perfect_ for each other! Why can't he see that? She's my favourite! I _need_ to meet her. You need to marry her!"

"Calm down," Tatum chastised. "You can't control people's live Louisa, and you should stop trying to."

"But they're my OTP," Louisa whined.

"Can we head to the hospital yet?" I whined, just as pathetically.

"We haven't got the call," Sora said. "Maybe you kids could just talk amongst yourselves?"

Louisa took the opportunity to corner Neo, while Haruki led most of the children off to play a game. Makoto stayed behind, with the younger kids, something clearly on his mind. Osamu just sat with his baby brother, determined to watch over him while his parents were away—especially since Mai had run off with Haruki.

"This is the life," Emiko said, relaxing, kicking her feet out on the ground in front of her and leaning heavily against her friend—boyfriend? I really didn't know. Well, I knew they liked each other and he claimed to be the father of the baby, but really? That could mean anything. Maybe it was just an attempt to make Jou feel bad about his behaviour, I mean, the kid _did_ seem to idolize the doctor. Oh well. It really wasn't my problem. "No parents, I can finally just relax."

"Yeah," Sora said with a smile. "And there are lots of perks to being pregnant too. It's not all uncomfortable. When you feel the first movements, fluttering in your stomach."

"The look on the father's face when _he_ can finally feel it too," Tatum added.

"The first time you look at your little baby's face and finally meet him, after nine months of expectation," Rei added wistfully.

"First words," Natsuni added. "First steps, first teeth, first haircut."

"All the firsts," Sora agreed.

"Just the idea that _you_ made that kid," Rei said. "That's what gets me when I look at Nikko. Even now. I _made_ him. It took nine months, but he was worth every extra trip to the bathroom, ever obscure craving that now makes me cringe."

"The mood swings," Willis added, jokingly. "The demands for ice cream with pickles in the middle of the night. All the foot rubs I needed to give, the back massages. The tears I wiped away, the many, many, _many_ trips to the bathroom for morning sickness..."

"That's enough," Mari said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not gonna have to worry about all that stuff," Emiko said.

"Sure you won't," Yamato said. "He will though. He's the one that's got to put up with it."

"I'd do anything for her," Azura said. "Even if it doesn't sound pleasant. I would do it. If it would help. Or even if she just really wants it, whether it will help or not."

"That's so sweet," Sora cooed. "You're going to be a great Dad. I can just see it."

Azura turned bright red. "I don't know about that."

"I do," Sora assured him. "You kind of remind me of Jou. Jou mixed with Koushiro, and with a good dash of Iori mixed in. They are all good dads...for the most part."

"Everyone has bad days," I pointed out.

"And sometimes they're _right_," Yamato added.

"You are not going into this right now," Sora said firmly. "You really aren't."

"Aren't I? How come you're always allowed to have ridiculous opinions and argue about them? Take Hideto's last story, for instance. You were ranting about all sorts of things that no one else seemed to believe in, but _you_ did. I believe I'm right, right now. Why can't I do that?" Yamato demanded.

"Because you're being stupid!" Sora shouted.

"Like you were. All the time. With Douche. Fighting about tobogganing instead of really saying what's wrong. I can be stupid too," Yamato insisted. "I really can."

"I don't doubt that," Sora smirked.

"Everyone can be stupid. But they're going to believe what they believe," Yamato said. "Why are you even so _mad_ about this? It's just my opinion."

"I'm mad because it's _wrong_," Sora said. "And I'm mad because you assumed I felt the same way as you."

"You're mad because I thought for _once_ we might be on the same side of an argument?" Yamato said exasperatedly. "Well _so-rry_. I won't think we have a united front ever again. I'll always assume we're on opposing teams."

"Don't _do_ that," Sora complained. "Don't generalize. I'm talking this one situation, but you always make it a bigger deal than it is. You're talking the past and now the future too, and all I'm saying is that Jou should be more supportive of his daughter in her time of need! We all supported him, and he was in a worse situation. He had so many debts it wasn't even funny. And they were still renting that absolutely abysmal apartment because there was nothing else they could afford. And they could _barely_ afford what they had. Their parents didn't approve, so they wouldn't support them during their time of need, and it sucked! We all remember how much strain it put on them. Why would you willingly force the same strain on his daughter? Why was it okay for Jou to have a baby so early in his life, but it's not okay for Emiko to do the same. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree you know."

"_Because_ of that strain!" Yamato said. "I don't want to see her suffer in silence the same way. She's so much like Jou. She's stubborn to a fault. She won't admit it when she needs help, and she'd have to take care of a whole other person at the same time. It's not healthy for her."

"She is still right here, people," Emiko said.

"And you disagree too," Yamato added. "Obviously."

"Partially," Emiko said. "I _thought_ my parents—Dad especially—would help me. Instead they decided to abandon me when I needed them. I'm glad I learned this now, instead of when I came back from school only to find that they don't really care."

"They care," Yamato insisted.

"Like you do?" she said cocking her head. "I doubt it. You don't want to see me 'suffer' for some surely _noble_ reason, but you don't understand that it's already happening. You're all thinking hypothetically, but you're all wrong. I can't go back in time and just not be pregnant."

"You actually could..." Kiyoko pointed out, remembering that there was legitimately a key that would do that.

"But I won't," Emiko said determinedly. "The key doesn't solve problems. It's a life for a life. I'm creating a life, someone _else_ might get put in my situation instead of me. And normally, I wouldn't care, but now I know how _sucky_ it is to find out your parents can love you one second and decide you are the worst thing that ever happened to them in an instant. And even _I_ wouldn't wish that on someone else."

Yamato was silent for a good long while. That's when I noticed Osamu was looking from adult to adult, clearly confused about the fighting. Makoto too was looking at us, though he was carefully keeping his sister, and the younger kids entertained and not invested. He also put himself between us and them, as if he thought a real fight would break out and he'd have to protect them. It was noble. But also made me feel ashamed of how we'd all been acting. Fighting in front of the kids, when they don't really understand the reasoning. _I_ didn't understand all the reasoning. But it wasn't fair to them. They weren't involved, and most of us shouldn't be involved either. The only ones this mattered to was Jou, Momoe, Emiko, Azura, Renjiro and their digimon. An argument could be made for Miyako and Mimi as well, as her godparents, but I thought that was stretching it.

"Why are you fighting?" Osamu asked timidly. Everyone turned to him, startled, realizing as I just did that there were still children present. "Babies are good. Aren't they? Everyone was a baby. Right? So having a baby is good?"

"By saying that having a baby is bad, your saying that we all shouldn't exist, aren't you?" Makoto added. "Babies suck, but they grow up. They're people."

"I like people," Chika said. "I'm a people. I am a people right?"

"A person," Makoto corrected automatically. "So is Osamu, and Shouta. And Iris, Madlyn and Izumi, even though they're stinky little babies."

"No baby," Iris said grumpily.

"I baby," Madlyn disagreed.

"'zumi, 'zumi!" Izumi said. I rolled my eyes. She didn't get it at all.

"But your parents were ready for you," Yamato argued.

"No they weren't," Kiyoko said. "You're never fully ready. Hideto and I got Izumi by chance. We didn't plan for her. And her mother didn't either. She couldn't keep her, right? That's the only reason she's here with us today. It's not up to us who's ready and who's not. It's up to that one person."

"Two people," I said. "Not always, but there are often two people involved."

"And we weren't ready for Aika," Sora reminded him. "And Kurayami and Daisuke? They weren't ready for Haruki either. And Jou and Emiko weren't planning on Emiko. I'm also pretty sure—despite their constant protests—that your brother and Hikari weren't ready for a second kid when they had Hiro, just a year after Tenshi. I wouldn't give Aika up for the world. I couldn't imagine my life without her. Or without Emiko, Haruki, Hiro, or even Izumi. They are all so important to us. And if I got pregnant at any other moment, I wouldn't have my little tomboy."

"I know that," Yamato said. "And you can't change the past."

"And my getting pregnant? Yeah, that's in the past," Emiko pointed out. "So you can't change that either."

"I don't have to like it," Yamato said stubbornly.

"No," Azura said. "And you don't have to like me, or Emiko either."

"Speak for yourself," Emiko said. "You still have to love me."

"Just don't tell the baby it's a mistake," Azura said. "Because it wasn't. It was an accident, but not a mistake. Because it will be perfect just the way it is."

"Just like Aika," Sora added.

"And Haruki," Mari said.

"And Hiro," Natsuni told him.

"'zumi, 'zumi!" Izumi added. And we all laughed.

"And me," Emiko said. Yamato nodded, and Emiko's face brightened. "So I can count all ya'll as a part of _my_ side now? None of you are Team Jou anymore?"

It seemed to be a general consensus that _no_, we weren't Team Jou anymore. Not after that motivational speech that Jou really should have heard, but couldn't because he'd taken Kurayami to the hospital and never called to say that we could bring the kids over, which meant sooner or later Louisa was going to remember that I never finished the Yamato and Sora story, and was going to come and beg me to tell it, and then I'd get pressured by all the adults to do just that, and it really wasn't fair that I had to tell all these stories! It wasn't!

Huh.

I felt better after internally ranting about it.

"Even you munchkins?" Emiko inquired. All the kids seemed to agree. It was kind of obvious they'd only chosen the teams that they had because of their parents' intervention in the first place. "Great. That makes Dad's team four people and four digimon. That's a lot less daunting."

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"Mom, Dad, Daisuke and Neo," Emiko said. "And their digimon partners. That's it."

"Neo shouldn't be too hard to convince..." Rei muttered.

"Convince to do what?" Neo wanted to know, having finally ditched Louisa, who was looking at me with determination. Damn it. It was almost story time!

"Join my team," Emiko said.

"I don't think you should have kids," Neo said. "I think you're a menace to society and that giving you kids is like giving you a built in army. It's just not a good idea."

"Is that the only reason?" Emiko wanted to know.

"Yeah," Neo said. "That's it."

"It's not some 'noble' reason and your siding with my Dad in a show of support?" she demanded.

"I don't really talk to your Dad. I don't talk to any of you really. I only join the lot of you for this one day. August first. That's it," Neo pointed out. "Other than that, I only see a small handful of you."

"Alias III for the win," Mari joked.

"So I'm just going to count you as your own team, separate from my Dad," Emiko decided. "Woo! Down to three."

"Six, with the digimon," Azura reminded her.

"Fine, but it sounds less impressive," she grumbled.

"As interesting as I'm sure this al is," Louisa said. "I think we should call the others back over, so we can hear more about—"

"Sora and Yamato," I said glumly. "I know."

"Yay!" she cheered and she went to collect the kids. Soon they were all sitting back on the ground in front of me and I was forced to recount yet another story, when nobody else had to tell nearly as many as I did. I was seriously debating just _not_ coming to the next yearly event. Not if I'd have to tell stories that was for sure.

"Yamato wasn't actually a part of the next stage of their story," I remembered. "But _I_ was there, so I guess you're in luck..."

* * *

"We're going to Sora's house?" Biyomon asked me suspiciously for the tenth time since I'd collected her from the Digital World.

"Yes," I said, rolling my eyes.

"And why are _you_ taking me?" she asked just as suspicious.

"Because Sora asked me to get you after I yelled at her. She has now remembered just how important you are, and how much more you mean to her than any man ever will," I said.

* * *

"Not true," Biyomon interrupted.

"I was using it as a transitional sentence, so the kids realize what sort of emotional growth Sora had undergone without me actually having to tell them about that part of the story too," I explained. Louisa looked like I'd cheated her out of the story, but I wasn't going to tell them anymore than what was strictly necessary.

* * *

"Oh, okay," Biyomon said. "I miss her. She doesn't visit very much."

"That's because she's been letting Douche run her life for her, but she's ready to make a stand today. And she needs _you_ to do it," I told her. Eventually, we finally made it to Douche's very fancy and elaborate home, where Sora was waiting at the doorway, watching for us to arrive. She ushered me in first, stopping to hug Biyomon and whisper a heart-felt apology for putting Biyomon's needs to the side in favour of Douche's when Biyomon didn't deserve that. And then I had to push her into the sitting room, where she told us Douche was waiting.

"What's going on, Sora?" Douche said, narrowing his eyes at my presence.

"I realized that there was someone I never introduced you to, Douche," Sora said. "My best friend."

"I've already met him. And I don't like that he's your best friend. So he's not now. He's not your best friend anymore," Douche decided. "I'm your best friend. That makes it easier. Then I won't have to pretend to like someone. I love me. It makes so much sense."

"I won't even go into how many things was _wrong_ with that," I said, rolling my eyes. "But I'm not her best friend."

"Yes," Douche said. "We've just covered that. You've been demoted."

"I've never _been_ her best friend," I continued, as though he hadn't opened his stupid mouth. "And while her one best friend is actually a male, he isn't the one I brought here today."

"He brought my other—my _better_—half. The one person I've been putting off introducing you to, and I've realized, with Hideto's help, that that's no way to live. I can't split my life in two parts. Not when so much of who I am is wrapped up in what she and I went through together. I can't be myself without her. You can't _know_ me, or love me, if you don't know her," Sora said passionately.

"You've got a twin sister?" Douche guessed, looking like he was having ideas. Ideas that Sora clearly didn't like, since she glared at him.

"No," she snapped. "I mean my partner. Biyomon, come on out."

Biyomon slipped into the room, and Douche looked from Sora to the beautiful, pink digimon, and back again. With each look, his face grew redder and redder. The veins in his head started bulging.

"How. _Dare_. You," he snarled, looking to me. "How dare you bring that THING into my home."

"That _thing_ is my best friend," Sora shouted. "And I don't appreciate the way you talk about her like she's not alive."

"I've told you. I've TOLD YOU!" Douche screamed. "These MONSTERS aren't worth the dirt on the bottom of our shoes. And you go and get one of your own. After I expressly forbid even their being MENTIONED in this house!"

"I didn't do it to spite you," Sora growled. "I've known her since I was eleven years old."

"But you have _me_ now," Douche told her firmly. "And you don't need that thing anymore. It can go out with the trash."

"No. She. Won't," Sora snarled.

"If you won't do it, I will," he said, as though he was doing a heroic deed for humanity. "It has clearly brainwashed you." He walked over to Biyomon, who looked very confused and not at all scared, and grabbed her wing, dragging her to the door.

"Sora?" Biyomon asked. "Can I hit him?"

"No Biyomon, violence is never the answer," Sora admonished.

* * *

"But if violence is never the answer, why do you always make your digimon fight your enemies?" Elliot asked.

I didn't have an answer.

So I ignored him.

* * *

Sora turned to Douche. "Drop her," she told him. "Drop her RIGHT. NOW!"

"I won't," Douche said. "Can't you see what it's doing to you? Where did the woman I love go? Where's the girl that worships me? The girl that follows my every whim? Hangs off my every word? That agrees every word is law? Where did she go?"

"She wasn't real!" Sora said. "She was _never_ real. She was weak, an imposter to the real me. I let you take me at my weakest and mold me into your trophy, when in reality all I was doing was letting you take everything unique and special about me and throw it in the trash. You took every one of my insecurities and exploited it. And I'm not doing that anymore. Either you want me, and everything that makes me, well, _me_, or you get to go it alone."

"You're _my girl_," Douche emphasized.

"So you can accept me? And all that makes me special, _including_ Biyomon?" Sora asked, holding her breath.

"I could never have a woman that prefers this disgusting, worthless piece of junk to me," Douche told her.

"Biyomon isn't junk," Sora insisted.

"And you'll never get a guy to love you more than I did. Not that it was very much, mind. You _are_ so difficult to love, after all," Douche continued. "You won't be this lucky again. If you walk out that door, I won't ever take you back. You'll be alone forever, because no one else is nearly as charitable as _I_ am."

"And I'm okay with that," Sora said, sounding—honestly?—genuinely relieved. "I'm a strong, independent woman. And I don't need a douche like you to feel good about myself. I just need Biyomon. She loves me unconditionally, and if I'm worthy of that? Then I must be someone damn special."

"There you go!" I cheered. "Now she sees it!"

"Oh," Douche said, glancing from Sora to me. "I get it. You fancy yourself in love with this loser, and think you don't need me anymore. That's cute."

"No," Sora said, pulling Biyomon's other wing, and getting her to safety. "But I might be in love with somebody else. And I think it's time he knows that."

"Whatever," Douche said. "Have fun ripping your worthless heart to shreds."

"Have fun discovering that your book's been off the best sellers list for the last eight weeks," Sora said, rolling her eyes.

"You're lying!" Douche snarled. "I checked the paper last night."

"I stock piled them, in case your book got booted out of first place, since it was a point of pride for you," Sora told him. "In reality, it was replaced by _A Digimon Adventure by Takeru Takaishi_, which, funnily enough, stars _Biyomon_ and not you."

He glared at her, and stormed out of the living room and into the hallway, opening the door. "This is the door," he growled.

"Is it?" I asked him cheekily.

"Don't let it hit you on the way out," he said. We clearly weren't moving fast enough for him, since he decided to literally kick Biyomon through the doorway.

"You did _not_ just do that," Sora snapped. And then she jumped on him, her fists flying wildly, hitting him wherever she was able to.

"Not the face! Not my precious face!"

* * *

"Then we high-tailed it out of there, only going back for her stuff when we _knew_ he was gone out for work. Sora then sort of camped out in Kiyoko's and my living room for the next couple of weeks, while she planned her next conversation with Yamato," I finished.

"But Mom, I thought violence was never the answer," Aika questioned.

"I learned an important lesson that day. Sometimes it is," Sora said. "But come talk to me first, so I can tell you if it really is the answer or not. I don't want you getting detention if it's not worth it."

"What happened next?" Louisa asked. "When did they get together?"

"Well," I said, reluctantly getting ready to start in on yet another story, when Rei's phone started ringing.

"Hello?" she said quickly, looking at us all sheepishly. "Oh! Taichi. We can head over now? They're getting ready to deliver? That's so exciting. I've just got to grab my chair and I'll head over. You mean you've already got one reserved? That's so sweet. Okay. We're on our way."

"Sorry kids," I said excitedly. "I guess I'm not going to be able to tell you anymore. Oh well. We should go witness the creation of life instead."

"Way to sound bummed," Emiko said sarcastically.

"I really _am_," I said faking disappointment.

"Whatever," Sora said. "Let's get going, everyone have their shoes? We can't go without shoes. Chika, where are yours?"

"In the river," she said.

"Right, well, I brought an extra pair for Aika, just don't lose these ones," Sora said exasperatedly, handing over a pair of running shoes that were too big for little Chika, but they'd have to do.

"NO!" Louisa was yelling at Tatum. "I said I wasn't leaving until I found out the ending of the Yamato and Sora story. And I haven't. I can't leave!"

"Well you'll miss the story then," Tatum told her. "Because we'll be telling at the hospital _without_ you!"

"That's not fair!" Louisa whined. "You can't leave me alone."

"Watch me," Tatum threatened. We could all see she was faking it, but Louisa evidently couldn't.

"Louisa," Haruki said. "I'm getting a baby brother or sister. Don't you want to meet him or her?"

"I do," Louisa said.

"Then come on," Haruki pleaded, holding out his hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. But they didn't let go right away. It was adorable. And then they realized they were still holding hands and made a big show of thinking it was gross. Ah, puppy love.

**Next Time on Happily Ever After:** It's the last chapter. Coming up next. Stay tuned. Don't touch that dial. The next chapter is so exciting it will blow your socks back into your drawer all folded and everything. Just kidding. It's pree chill.


	10. The End

**Y/N: **This is it, the end of the Epilogue that we've worked so hard to get to. It's the whole point of our series, which was originally thought up to bridge the gap between 02 and the seemingly preposterous endings they gave each characters. The idea sort of exploded into a far more detailed series than we'd planned, but I wouldn't change anything. I'm happy with the way it went.

**U/N: **Heyyyy this is the last chapter ever in the Digimon Adventure Series. Kind of. But we'll let you know about things later if we decide to get our behinds in gear and do something about it. It isn't what you'd expect though, and we don't expect anyone to read it necessarily. It's just that writing these seven stories (03, HIMTM, 04, HCTB, 05, Moments, and of course, HEA, this one) has greatly improved our writing skills, and that was really the goal, setting out on this task in the first place, and as we both wish to be writers in the future, this is the best way to get started on that goal. Of course you all reading it and reviewing with thoughts, theories, ideas, criticism and, of course positive input, was what made it better I'd say :P And of course we'd love if you guys checked out our new story at some point whenever we get it going, but if not, thank you very much for coming through twenty eight years of these characters lives with us, and for helping us along the way. We're still writing it. But if you're done here, that's cool. Have a wonderful life, and enjoy the new season of Digimon next spring! :D Though I might disregard it from canon after all of our work xD  
I hope you like this chapter though, and byyyeeee...

but you should totally review this or a sea of lava will flow from the skies and devour your first born child later in life. There will be a monster involved. I think. Though I can't see the future. And I'm not threatening you fo reals. I'm joking.

**Title: Happily Ever After**

**By: Yukiraking**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters**

**Chapter 10: The End**

_**Daisuke Motomiya: 10:00 pm**_

"Can we get a wheelchair over here?" Jou called loudly. I was busy supporting Kurayami, keeping her from falling to the floor. Ken was on her other side. Her knees were giving out at random intervals, and he wasn't about to abandon his best friend's wife in her time of need. He was pretty awesome like that. Or it could just be him returning the favour, since I was one of the only ones Miyako would permit to come to Taro's birth earlier that year. Ken and I were beyond excited to have kids born the same year—again. We might have another set of best friends on our hands! I loved how Mai and Haruki's friendship mimicked ours, while still being so very different at the same time.

"Thank you!" Jou shouted sarcastically. "I'll just do it myself _shall_ I?"

"We're getting one as we speak," a nurse said, trying to calm him down. It probably wasn't such a good idea to have a ridiculously angry Jou in charge. Usually he was better at separating his personal life with work. Granted he wasn't technically on the clock at the moment. And his office was actually in the Digital World...

"Good," he growled. "Daisuke, you're going to have to fill in the paperwork."

"Uh..." I said awkwardly. Kurayami tightened her grip on my shoulder, refusing to let me leave. Hikari grabbed the papers a second nurse was holding, and turned her back to me. Takeru handed me a pen, and I used Hikari's back as a table as I tried to fill in the blanks without having a panic attack. I was having a baby! Well, _I_ wasn't. Kurayami was. But I was going to be a dad again. And I was freaking out! I couldn't really remember what it was like to have a kid around that _couldn't_ take care of itself.

What if I was a horrible father to a new born just because I'd grown complacent as Haruki grew? Oh no!

"Calm down," Kurayami told me through gritted teeth. "You'll be _fine_. Haruki loves you. This one will love you too. It doesn't matter if you mess up a couple of times while you find your groove. Everything will be fine."

Then another, equally horrible thought hit me: what if Haruki got jealous of the new baby? I didn't want him to think we were replacing him with a newer, younger version. We weren't going to love him any less. We'd just have less time for him. And less attention to shower on him. Especially for the first little while. What if Haruki thought he could get away with absolutely anything because we were so busy with the new baby?

"Daisuke," Kurayami growled. "Worry about that later."

How did she always know what I was thinking about?

"You're muttering out loud," she told me. "Finally!"

I looked to see yet another nurse rushing forward with a wheelchair, and I could finally lower Kurayami into it. She grabbed my hand as I went to finish the paperwork.

"Stay with me?" she pleaded.

"I'll be right there," I promised. "This needs to be filled out first."

"I'll hold you to that promise," she swore. Labramon tried to follow the nurse and Kurayami into the room, but the nurse wouldn't allow a _dog_ into the delivery room. Didn't we know how unsanitary it was? I rolled my eyes. Clearly she hadn't met Kurayami yet. I filled in the last couple blanks on the paper, smiling when I heard the nurse scream out: "Fine, fine the dog can come! Just _stop_ it!" That was my wife for ya. She was scary as hell when she wanted to be. And you weren't keeping her digimon away from the birth of her child. They did everything together. They had since Kurayami found him, since she'd realized that Apocolymon _wasn't_ actually her partner. They'd had a lot of catching up to do. There were very few digimon-partner relationships that I could think of that rivalled theirs. Takeru and Patamon. Mari and her Lalamon. Tenshi and Salamon. They were even closer than me and Veemon, and that was saying something, since Veemon was legitimately my business partner.

"Thank you," that first nurse said with wide eyes as I handed her the pages. She was clearly just as scared of my wife as her latest victim was. I'm not gonna lie. I was actually pretty scared to go in there. But I had to. I promised after all.

"There you are!" she screamed when she caught sight of me. "You were taking so long, I thought you'd forgotten."

"I couldn't forget you," I said. "Or the little guy."

"It could be a girl," she said, with a half-hearted smile. She was in a lot of pain.

"Where are the doctors?" I demanded.

"Don't know," she said. "Can't wait to see them."

"I can't wait to meet our new baby," I said with grin.

"Think about it," she told me. "Our baby, and baby Taro, they'll be about the same age as Emiko's baby. They can all be friends."

"Let's not talk about _Emiko_ having a baby right now," I suggested.

"You're not still on Jou's side?" she asked with warning in her voice.

"Of course I am," I said. "Jou's one of us. And I'm going to support him through and through."

"Then you can go and support him in the waiting room," she said.

"You can't be serious," I said, shocked. "Just because I don't think Emiko having a baby is a good thing. You're going to kick me out?"

"Yes," she said. "I was born in darkness. My child isn't being born with negative energy around us. And your's is a negative energy right now. You could send Hikari in on your way, though. That would be helpful."

"No way," I said. "You _are_ serious. You're kicking me out because of Emiko. There's another reason to be against her."

"Shut up," she said. "And GET OUT!"

"Fine," I said angrily. "I'll send in Hikari. She might enjoy watching _my_ kid being born."

I'm not gonna lie. I was furious. And I was a little immature about it. I was pouting and stomping my feet the whole way to the waiting room. I didn't understand her at all. She made me promise to be there. I _wanted_ to be there. It wasn't fair. Emiko should've waited another day or two to announce her "little bundle of joy". I'd only been looking forward to this for nine months—or close to it, I mean I didn't know she was pregnant the instant it happened, actually it wasn't until the two and a half month mark...but still!—and she went and ruined it.

"I honestly can't believe you right now!" Miyako was shouting as I finally arrived at the waiting room. I was majorly disappointed, but also quite relieved, that no one noticed my miserable mood and childlike behaviour.

"_Me_!" Momoe screamed at her. "What about _you_? You're my sister. We fight sometimes, but when it counts we've got each other's backs!"

"And we're always there to let each other know when we're being completely STUPID! And that's you right now!" Miyako argued.

"Jou, please tell me you've actually taken time to _think_ about this situation," Iori was pleading with Jou in a completely separate argument that was overlapping with the other one.

"Of course—" Jou started to say, but Iori cut him off.

"No. You obviously didn't. If you _had_ you'd realize what a terrible father—no. Not just father, _person_. You're being a horrible _person_ right now. I don't even know why I'm talking to you. I really don't. I can't stand the idea that you're being this way. You're making my skin crawl," Iori said, shivering in disgust.

"I don't see how it's any of your business," Jou said. "None of you are directly involved. It's between Momoe, Emiko and me."

"You're only saying that because you're losing," Iori said rolling his eyes. "Everyone's ganging up on "poor" Jou. You'd think that fact would get through to you and you'd realize you're wrong. But I guess I overestimated your brain-capacity. And I thought I _knew_ you. I don't even recognize you today. Where'd my best friend go? I guess you ditched him the way you ditched your daughter in her time of need."

"_I'm_ not the one being stupid," Momoe exclaimed. "What the_ hell_ was Emiko thinking?! She wasn't thinking at all. How could she do this?"

"How could _you_ do it?" Miyako snapped. "You swore to me, you _swore_, that you wouldn't end up like Mom and Dad. But you're doing it anyway. I can't even look at you right now."

"Guys, can't you lay off just a bit?" I asked. "We are in a hospital."

"And YOU!" Miyako snarled, targeting me now, instead of her sister. Why did I open my mouth?

"What did I do?" I asked defensively.

"You're on their side. How could you side with them? After everything you went through with your parents, you'd support Jou and Momoe when Emiko is the real victim here? Yes, she got pregnant, but it _happened_ already. She just needs friends and family to take care of her during this time, and I'm going to support her, because _I'm _not like _my_ parents, I'm not like _Daisuke's_ parents and I'm sure as hell not like _Jou's_. I'm going to stand by my niece. My goddaughter. And if that means I have to take her in to do it, I _will_. I will not let her stay in a negative environment. Not while she's pregnant, and even if she wasn't, I wouldn't stand for it. I won't allow it!" Miyako shouted. Jou and Momoe stared at her, before stalking off down the hall with an exasperated "We don't need to hear this!"

"Daisuke," Taichi said—a hell of a lot calmer than Miyako was—once they were gone. "You can't tell me that you really _believe_ in the cause you're fighting for, can you?"

"I dunno," I said. "I'm just standing with Jou. You know, since he's my friend, and Emiko put shoelaces in the noodles I was making at my cart last week. I _sold_ those!"

"So you've got a grudge against the kid," Ken said. "You're holding it over her, this petty grudge of yours, instead of helping her in her time of need?"

"I guess, yeah," that sounds about right..." I said slowly.

"Oh whatever," Mimi said, rolling her eyes. "You're about to be a dad, right now. If you were still a kid, and _Taichi_ was dead set against it happening, how would you feel?"

"Why would Taichi's opinion matter?" I asked, confused.

"He's your hero," Mimi explained. "And Jou is Emiko's. How would you feel, as an eighteen year old kid, if Taichi told you that he hated your child just because he didn't like the idea of it?"

"I'd never want to speak to him again, I guess," I said. But then I really thought about it. Hard. "I guess it would be the worst sort of betrayal ever. And it would definitely divide us into teams, and as much as I hate to admit it, most of you would've chosen to side with Taichi. And I'd feel even more betrayed. And we'd be split, instead of united, which we _have_ to be, since we're really all that's keeping the peace between the worlds, and if we're in disarray, then I suppose the worlds would be too..."

"And your life would suck, when it _should_ be a joyous if slightly scary time," Takeru said. "So yeah, you're siding with Taichi in that situation right now. Doesn't sound so great, does it?"

"No, I guess not," I agreed.

"Wow there sure are a lot of people here!"

"And digimon. I wonder what they're all doing here?"

"I think that's Gomamon..."

I turned, deciding these people sounded both familiar, and like they actually knew us, and I was embarrassed to find out that it was my sister, her husband and her daughter.

"Daisuke!" Jun said. "Was there an emergency? Is Kurayami alright?"

"Where's Haruki?" Kaoru—my niece—asked.

"Kurayami is relatively fine," I assured Jun. "She's in the delivery room right now. I kinda got kicked out..."

"So where's Haruki?" Jun demanded, repeating her daughter's question.

"In the Digital World, with everyone else," I told her.

"Get him here," she said. "He's going to be upset if he's not, like, the second person to meet the baby. You know that. He's just as excited as you."

"Right," I said. "We should get them here..."

"I'll call Rei," Taichi said, already dialling the number on his inter-dimensional phone. "Hey, Rei, it's me. Yeah, we're ready for you guys now. Kurayami's fine, she's in the delivery room. I think she's ready to have the baby. No, no. Don't worry about your chair. I'll get one ready for you. What do you mean I've got to reserve them? Never mind. I'll do it. See you soon."

"They're coming I take it?" I asked.

"Yeah. I've gotta get a chair, excuse me," he said, heading off down the hallway.

Everyone was pretty awkward with each other after that. Jou and Momoe hadn't come back yet, I sent Hikari in to see _my_ baby being born, since _I_ wasn't allowed back in. Which was stupid. But whatever. Taichi came back with a chair, and then we all just sort of...waited for the kids to arrive. They did, eventually. It was only like ten minutes, but still, with tensions running high, and nobody talking to one another, ten minutes felt like forever.

"Dad!" Haruki yelled, running up to me. "Why aren't you with Mom? Did she have _complications_ like Rei had with Nikko? Is she gonna die?"

"No," I said quickly, before the kids around him could start freaking out too. "Your dad just got in trouble is all. No big deal."

"You got in trouble?" he asked with a snicker. "What a loser."

"Haruki!" Kaoru cheered, and she dragged her cousin away before I could scold him.

"How _are_ things going?" Sora asked.

"Good, I guess. They haven't told me otherwise. Hikari's in there, you could probably go check if you want. _You_ didn't get on Kurayami's bad side," I told her. She slipped down the hallway to check on my wife, while Hideto made his way over to my side.

"If they ask for stories, it's your turn," he told me.

"What?" I asked. "Why?"

"Think of it as additional punishment, for upsetting your pregnant wife," he said happily.

"You couldn't think of anyone else to do it? I already took a turn," I said pouting.

"And I had like four turns all at once. You can handle two," he said a little snappy in my opinion.

"So," Mimi said, sneaking up on the both of us. "I'm doing a thing."

"What _kind_ of thing?" we asked together, warily.

"I'm on Jou's side again," she said, with a wink.

"You just talked me out of that," I pointed out.

"But that's what makes it a great thing," she said. "No one will expect it. I'm like a double agent."

"Mimi that doesn't sound like a good plan," Hideto said gently.

"Well, I'm not good at scheming," Mimi said, rolling her eyes. She turned away and flipped her hair in my face. Literally. I got a mouthful of Mimi's hair. It was really disgusting. "Jou!" she shouted, noticing Jou and Momoe begrudgingly walking back to the group. When they spotted Emiko, they almost turned tail, but Mimi's exclamation drew too much attention to them for them to get away with it.

"Hi Mimi," Jou said.

"I'm on _your_ side," she said, emphasizing it far too much. I looked at Hideto, and he clearly didn't see what Mimi was trying to pull off either. She really should've talked this plan over with the both of us...

"Thank you, Mimi," Jou said, genuinely pleased.

"Hold up. What'd you just say?" Emiko demanded.

"I'm on Jou's side," Mimi told her. "Oh, Chika? Where are your shoes?"

"In the river," Chika said giddily.

"That's it: You're banished," Mimi declared.

"Yay!" Chika cheered.

"Banished is _bad_," Makoto told her, looking at his mother funny.

"_Mimi_," Koushiro said warningly, holding his arms open for his daughter—now crying—to run into. Makoto stepped back away from his mother slowly, afraid she'd be banishing him next.

"What?" Mimi said, twirling her hair around her finger. "Those shoes were expensive."

"Do you think that's any way to treat your daughter?" Jou asked, looking at Mimi like he didn't know her.

"I don't know Jou," Mimi said, turning on him. "I've been getting lessons on parenting from _you_ so you tell me!"

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"You aren't happy with Emiko's choices, so you decided she's not worthy or something," Mimi said. "You seem to know what you're doing though, so I thought I better follow your example."

"What?" Jou asked, sounding just as confused as before.

"You're being a bad dad," Renjiro explained to him. "And I don't like you anymore."

"Renjiro," Momoe scolded.

"No," Renjiro said. "I'm right. And you're not being a good mom either. You're being too hard on Emiko. I _want_ her to have a baby. That makes me an uncle. That means I can be a positive influence on another human being. How cool is that? But you guys are being mean to her. She's not gonna want you to be influential at all."

"Screw influential," Emiko said. "How about uninvolved. You don't want me to have a baby? Fine. You won't _see_ the baby. How's that? You can pretend you _aren't_ grandparents, and I can go on with my life, without you. See, I don't do so good with bad influences. Dad taught me not to. And I can't be around you when you're acting like this. And you'll be glad I'm gone. Won't you? I'm just a mistake after all."

"Emiko," Momoe said pleadingly. "We love you. We just want what's best."

"You have a funny way of showing it," Emiko snapped.

"We're _trying_!" Jou told her. "It's hard. And I can't accept it."

"You don't have to. Just give me the word, and I'm gone," Emiko said. "I'm not _just_ a mistake am I? I'm a disappointment too."

"Not to me," Renjiro said. "You're my big sister. And I love you. And I want you around. And I want to meet the baby. And I'll love him enough for them too."

"Thanks kiddo," Emiko said, snorting at her own pun—which several others laughed at too. Well, we pretended not to laugh—we pretended we weren't there for the little family tiff—but really? Kiddo. Kido. It's a classic. "And I'll try not to make you cry quite so much. But yeah, that's all I can promise. I'm not gonna stop pranking you."

"I'm not asking you to," Renjiro said. "Just don't cut me out with Mom and Dad."

"I won't," Emiko promised.

"Cut us out?" Momoe gasped. "You're not being serious right now."

"I can be," Emiko told her. "You can't stop me."

"I can," Jou said defiantly. "You can't leave us."

"Watch me," Emiko snapped. She was close to breaking. I could see it.

Michael was wincing. Tatum was next to him, holding a sleeping Madlyn while Mari—at _Tatum's_ side—held a screaming Iris. Willis was looking back and forth, following the argument, clearly not liking the turn of events. Ken looked furious about the whole thing. And he had to hold on to Miyako, who desperately wanted to rush over and grab Emiko, hold her in her arms and never, _ever_, let her go. Mai was holding Taro close to her chest, he was wiggling around and trying to break free. He wanted his mom, and he wanted everyone to stop fighting. Osamu was hiding out with Elliot and Nikko in the corner, trying not to draw attention, and holding his hands over his ears. Elliot and Nikko seemed to be telling each other stories, while patting Osamu on the back, trying to calm him down. Terriermon and Lopmon were standing near them, holding their ears spread out, to block the view of the fight for all of the in-training and baby digimon. They didn't seem to be taking it too well, although Salamon seemed to be trying to keep their attention by doing tricks—not well, but still, it was a noble effort.

Chika was crying into Koushiro's shoulder, and Makoto was leaning back against him. Mimi was trying to explain how her plan was supposed to get Jou to think about his current parenting technique, but it got a bit out of hand—and she didn't mean it!

Shouta was freaking out. He didn't want to be here anymore. And he was horribly over-tired but there wasn't a lot we could do about that, with the family spat going on. Aika was doing her best to protect him though. She was standing with her back to the fight, telling him all sorts of things they'd get to do when he gets bigger. He didn't stop crying, but the screaming _did_ stop. Biyomon and Gabumon took it upon themselves to stand between the fight and Aika, since she was being such a good big sister, and they always felt the need to protect their partner's children, even from a verbal fight. Sora and Yamato were not too far away either. Yamato had his arm around Sora's shoulders and Sora was very upset with the fight, though it was clear she was going to support Emiko, whatever the outcome.

Monmon was standing with Azura behind Emiko. Both with determined looks on their face. One—or both—would probably be joining the fight soon. Gomamon and Bearmon however looked like they'd rather be with them, instead of behind Jou and Momoe. They clearly didn't support Jou's Team. It looked like it was down to just Jou and his wife too. Shouldn't the fight be over soon then? One could only hope.

Louisa—who only like _happy_ stories—was openly sobbing, and Haruki, who happened to be standing next to her when she started was being a gentlemen about it, and had wrapped an arm around her neck, letting her cry into his shirt. Veemon, Pal and Pul were telling jokes, trying to get her to laugh, but she wasn't having it. She wanted them all to be happy again. Haruki kept looking down the hall to where his mother was, probably giving birth to the baby right now, with only Hikari and Labramon there to witness it.

Kana wasn't even three feet away from them, staring at the fight with wide eyes. If eyes could be heart shaped, I'd bet hers would've been. Renjiro had never stood up for anything in his life. With a sister like Emiko, he'd never really had a chance. It was usually Kana that had to do it for him. But he'd done it now, for his sister, and against his _parents_ of all people. She was definitely proud of him. I was too.

Iori was too focused on glaring at Jou and Momoe. Hating their actions so much it was practically tangible. Natsuni and Goblimon were worried. They both cared so much about Momoe, but they didn't like how she was acting. Armadillomon was rolling around in a big circle the floor, curled up in a ball, going around Izumi, as she giggled, effectively distracted and thankfully _not_ crying for once. Hawkmon was performing a soliloquy of some sort, while Wormmon scuttled around her too. She wasn't lacking any distractions. Hopefully it would be enough to keep her entertained until the tensions dispersed.

Hideto, Kiyoko, Neo and Taichi were all standing together, with Dracomon, Agumon, Gabumon and Tapirmon. Taichi's Agumon was over with Rei, who was kind of stuck close to the fight, because there wasn't an opening big enough to fit her chair through so that she could get away. Agumon decided to brave the fight with her so she wouldn't be alone. Shuu, Jun and Kaoru were standing awkwardly with Meramon and Otamamon. They didn't know exactly what the fight was about, but they looked like they wished they weren't here to witness it. I understood that. Tentomon and Palmon were hanging around Hiro, while Patamon and Gatomon were with Tenshi. They were playing a word game together, and Takeru was getting anxious about the fight. He looked like he wanted to be here for the baby, but he also looked like he wanted to get his kids, and all of their digimon and get home. But Hikari was—again—still in with Kurayami.

And me?

I was angry. At the lot of them. They came here to wait for my baby. _Not_ to get into the mother of all fights in the waiting room. If they wanted to fight, why did it have to be here?

The sound of footsteps stopped Azura and Monmon from joining in, and they are also the reason that I can remember what everyone was doing at that moment. I _thought_ it was the announcement that I could go back in there and finally meet my new baby and I wanted to cement the exact memory into my mind for when this kid inevitably asks for a story someday.

But it wasn't a birth announcement. It was Isao. Jou's dad.

"What is going on out here?" he demanded. "You're causing Mrs Motomiya stress. Stress isn't good. Especially for her. Did you know that when stressed she gets angry? And did you know that when angry she begins to emit a dark shroud? I can't see what I'm doing anymore, and she's terrifying."

"So Hikari's in there to deliver the baby alone?" I cried out.

"No," he assured me. "Shin is there. He's a trained professional."

"_Shin_ gets to meet my baby first!" I whined. "Not fair!"

"Life isn't fair," Isao snapped. "Now, tell me what's going on. Or I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Dad's mad because I'm pregnant," Emiko said. "And now he hates me."

"I don't hate you," Jou corrected.

"Sounds like it," Emiko said. "You called me a mistake. You told me that no daughter of yours would do this. You _hate_ me now."

"Jou," Isao said. "This is neither the time nor place for this, but as it's already happening, let me give you a little advice. Don't do what I did. You'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"B-but," Jou protested weakly.

"No," Isao said. "As your father, do as I say, not as I did."

"She _can't_," Jou said, his voice cracking as his hard exterior chipped away, and he became a fragile, raw bundle of emotion. "She's my baby girl."

"I felt the same, when _you_ were in her position, and look what it got me," he said. "A lovely young granddaughter, and a daughter-in-law. And then later a grandson. There was nothing to fear. Nothing to resent, but I did it anyway. Are you following in my footsteps? Or are you going to do what you promised, and trudge your own path?"

"It feels like only yesterday, Dad. Yesterday that the worlds were combining and I was holding her for the first time. She can't be having a baby. I'm not ready to let go," Jou said, his eyes shimmering with tears. "I'm not ready."

"And you thought trying to hurt her was going to keep her here?" Isao asked gently.

"I don't know," Jou cried. "I thought it might. She's my baby, Dad. I had to do _something_. I already have to let her go away to that stupid school, and who knows if she's ever coming back. And now she's going to be a mom? She doesn't need us anymore. She won't be here like she always is..."

"Think back, Jou," Shuu suggested. "Remember how you and I felt when Dad was doing the same over-bearing thing you're doing now. We hated it. It only pushed us away further and faster. She's going one way or another, Jou. You've got to let her free."

"I'm scared!" Jou said, snapping completely.

"How do you think _she _feels?" Miyako asked. "Remember when you two were having a baby, and you didn't tell _anyone_ because you were too scared to see their reactions? Emiko was brave telling you at all. She knew she didn't have to. You guys didn't. But she wanted you involved. She wanted you to be there. She's not ready to let go either."

"And I never will be," Emiko admitted. "You're my Mom and Dad. I'm going to need you forever. I need to know that it's okay to come home after school is over. I need to know that you're going to love me no matter what I do or say."

"We _do_ love you," Momoe said, openly crying. "I don't want you to leave."

"And I don't want to leave," Emiko said. "I really don't. But I have to, because of school. But I'm going to be alone there, so I need to know that you'll still want me when I come back."

"I'm not going to let you be completely alone," Azura told her. "I'll see you ever weekend. We promised."

"Yeah," she said. "It's not going to be the same though."

"And it never will be," Isao told her. "But you will always have a place back home. Right Jou?"

"Yes. God yes. I'm not losing you," Jou told Emiko. "I can never lose you. You're my daughter. I love you more than life itself."

"Thanks," Renjiro said lightly, causing the tension to disperse, just as we'd all hoped it might.

"We love you just as much," Momoe said.

"I'm sorry," Jou apologized to Emiko. "I should never have unloaded all of _my_ fears onto you. It wasn't fair."

"No," Emiko agreed. "It wasn't."

"I'm sorry too," Momoe said. "Even though I'm still not sure how to feel about the whole baby thing. I guess it'll just take me some time to get used to it."

"Thanks, Gramps," Emiko said, smiling at him. "If I'd have known that you could get Dad to do anything, I would've used you as a secret weapon ages ago."

"Is the fighting over?" Makoto asked, looking from his sister, to Iris, to Shouta, to Louisa, all of which were still crying.

"Yeah," Jou said. "Sorry we scared you."

"_I_ wasn't scared," Makoto said bravely.

"Sure you weren't," Koushiro said, ruffling Makoto's hair. Makoto pulled away quickly and glared at his dad, patting his hair back into place.

"Are you okay now, Louisa?" Haruki asked.

"I will be," she said through her sobs. "Just as soon as someone tells me the rest of Yamato and Sora's story."

"Oh my god," Hideto whined. "I'm not telling it. Daisuke is."

"What?" I said, but then I remembered his stupid punishment rule. "Urgh. Okay. I guess it's story time. Again."

* * *

We were going to a concert. Not all of us. Just a few, but it was an odd group. Sora was going, which I found odd, since she and Yamato had been avoiding each other for ages, and it was his concert. Hideto was a no brainer. He was the one that scored us the tickets. Ken was dying to go, even though he was pretending like it was a bit of a chore to do so. Miyako was at home with Mai and Osamu. And Kurayami just really wasn't all that interested, so it became a friends thing. Point is, we had really good seats, and it was going to be awesome.

"I can't believe he's finally having a concert," Hideto squealed.

* * *

"I didn't squeal," he protested.

"I thought you weren't telling the story," Mari said.

"Go on," he sulked.

* * *

"I know right," Ken agreed. "He released his solo album ages ago. Why wait so long?"

"His girlfriend—what's her name—she didn't want him to go on tour right away," I reminded them. "Thought their relationship was too new to survive it. Turns out it didn't survive anyway."

"I knew it wouldn't," Hideto said. "But wow, did their relationship add something new to his sound."

"Yeah," Ken agreed. "It's not all break-up songs anymore. He also has angry songs. He must not have liked her that much."

"Those songs aren't about her," Hideto said knowingly. "They're about a certain guy that was dating a special little lady."

"You mean Douche?" Sora gasped. She looked a little pleased. "He's writing songs about hating Douche?"

"Yeah," Hideto said. "Didn't you listen to the album? His lead single is about a douche-bag that gets the girl every time even though he's incapable of loving anyone other than himself."

"Wow," Sora said. "I didn't get that when I listened to it."

"Really?" Ken, Hideto and I all asked her.

"I mean...I guess I _hoped_," she said. "But I wasn't _sure_."

"Well, it's true," Ken said. "It's pretty obvious."

Just then the lights went wild and the crowd followed suit. Yamato walked out onto the stage, with a band following him—not the Teenage Wolves, just some other guys. They all went on solo gigs, remember?—and he grabbed his guitar off of its stand.

"Heeeelllllloooooo everybody!" Yamato called into the microphone. "Am I ever glad to see all your smiling faces! It's been too long. Don't you think?"

The crowd screamed out their agreement.

"I'm glad you think so too," Yamato said. "I'm going to start us off with an old one. No, no, no. Don't worry. It's not what you think. It's the first song I ever sang on a stage that I'd written myself. It's called Turn Around!"

Several die hard Teenage Wolves fan were screaming. I couldn't help but feel excited too. I mean I'd actually heard this one before, and I knew it wasn't completely horrible. Hideto looked like he was going to die of pure euphoria.

_You've got a boy, you've got a girl,  
Sittin' underneath a tree.  
They sit there every day.  
And even though, you may think, that this is the way that things should be,  
It may not always be that way._

"I can't believe he's singing this song," Sora shouted over the noise of the crowd. "It's always been my favourite of his."

"Mine too," Ken called out.

"I can't believe there hasn't been a digimon attack yet," I joked.

"No," Hideto said. "There can't be one. I _need_ this concert like you wouldn't believe."

_You can't take nothin' for granted,  
You've gotta live life today.  
I turn around, I can see what's behind me,  
I turn back around, I can see what's ahead,  
And if you don't believe I've been here all along,  
Just turn around,  
Just turn around._

"Whoo!" Sora and Hideto cheered loudly. "Go Yamato!"

"You wanna pretend we're not with them?" I asked, turning to look at Ken. He was dancing a little jig on the spot, and I realized I was alone in my embarrassment.

_You wanna get, you gotta give,  
There is no other way to be, so give it a try.  
If what I say, is really so,  
You gotta let somebody see,  
You can't just keep it inside._

"I didn't know there _was_ a second verse," I shouted.

"You didn't think he _planned_ the tyransmon attack, did you?" Sora asked, rolling her eyes.

_You can't take nothin' for granted,  
You've gotta live life today.  
I turn around, I can see what's behind me,  
I turn back around, I can see what's ahead,  
And if you don't believe I've been here all along,  
Just turn around,  
Just turn around._

Yamato started on an intense guitar solo, dancing around the stage while playing the part expertly. I couldn't help it. The music was infectious. I joined Ken, Hideto and Sora in their crazy cheering, dancing combination.

_You can't take nothin' for granted,  
You've gotta live life today.  
I turn around, I can see what's behind me,  
I turn back around, I can see what's ahead,  
And if you don't believe I've been here all along,  
Just turn around,  
Just turn around._

"You guys join in now!" Yamato shouted out, before starting on the final chorus. The crowd seemed to agree to his every whim and everyone—myself included—were screaming along with the final chorus.

_You can't take nothin' for granted,  
You've gotta live life today.  
I turn around, I can see what's behind me,  
I turn back around, I can see what's ahead,  
And if you don't believe I'll been here all along,  
Just turn around,  
Just turn around._

"I'm glad you all liked it," Yamato called out. "I was afraid it was too old for you guys to remember. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to sing too. I love that song. It meant so much to us as band. But you guys didn't come here to hear me reminisce. You wanted to hear some music!"

The cheering started up again, and soon we were completely lost in the collection of songs. Yamato was with a different producer now, as a solo artist, and so he was contractually obligated to sing all sorts of sappy break-up songs, though he did sing his favourites of them. He seemed to _finally_ be letting loose and enjoying his dream for the first time in...well, ever. His good mood was affecting the entire audience. Sora was practically glowing with happiness the entire time. There were a couple of break-up songs that put a bit of a damper on her mood, but she always bounced back.

* * *

"This is taking forever," Nikko complained. "Is the baby ever gonna get born? I wanna go home soon."

"Don't interrupt him!" Louisa told him. "He's _finally_ telling the story I want to hear."

"Can I keep going?" I asked. "Or are we finished here."

"Keep going!" Mai and Kana pleaded.

"Okay then. I'll try and speed things up," I promised.

* * *

Nothing really happened until near the end of the concert, when Yamato told the audience that there was a special treat for one of us, as the first stop in his new tour. His drummer had a ticket stub, whoever had the matching piece won a chance to get up on stage while he sang one of his last songs, and depending on the person, the song would be different. Or something like that anyway. Point is, if _I _won, he'd sing a different song than if say...Sora won. He probably only had a boy song and a girl song, but it was still cool.

"Drum roll please," Yamato asked his drummer. "Okay, whoever in seat C 46. C 46 anybody?"

"Oh. My. God," Hideto said. "That's me. I won. I can't believe I won."

"I can't believe it either. I mean, what are the chances?" Sora said with a smile.

"Sora," Hideto said. "I can't believe I'm saying this. I don't know that I even _want_ to be saying this. But you've got to take it. You have to be the one that goes up there."

"But, you _love_ his concerts," Sora gasped.

"But you love _him_," Hideto pointed out. "As much as it means to me, sometimes you've got to make a sacrifice—and believe me, this is one of the worst ones you could ask me to make—to help a friend out. Now take it, before the suspense kills me."

"Fine," she said, hugging him, and kissing his cheek. "But I owe you one serenade."

"If you could pull that off I would love you forever," he promised.

"Seriously, C 46," Yamato called again awkwardly. "We didn't bring a different number...so if you could come on up, that would be _awesome_. I guess there were some kinks in our plan after all... Ha, _ha_."

"Go," Hideto hissed. "He's floundering up there."

Sora weaved her way through the aisles, and the body guards checked Hideto's ticket, gave their approval, and helped her over the barricade. She made her way up the stairs, and Yamato dropped his microphone at the sight of her. He scrambled to catch it before it hit the stage. And the way he ended up holding it totally broadcasted his end of the conversation to the crowd.

"Sora," he said. "What are you doing here?"

_I won_, I imagined her saying. _Where's my song_.

"Right, yeah, um. There's the stool. If you could sit there, that could be great," he said awkwardly. "Sora Takenouchi everybody!" There was a loud cheer—because seriously, he could say _anything_ and they'd cheer on cue.

Ken, Hideto and I watched as he sang a sweet, heartfelt love song to our friend, _his_ friend, his ex-_girlfriend_. The girl he'd been in love with for nearly as long as I'd known him. It was almost painful to hear him shying away from the most meaningful lines, afraid of her reactions to them. Clearly he didn't know about her complete about turn about the situation—Hideto _still_ wouldn't explain it to me, or tell me why _he_ knew anything about it at all. The three of us cringed, knowing the last few words of the song, and fearing how he'd react to them.

_Because I love you_

He'd barely finished singing the words before Sora threw her arms around him, obviously not realizing that the microphone was anywhere near her.

"I love you too, Yamato," she told him. He pulled away, and looked at her.

"You're serious?" he asked awkwardly.

"More serious than anything in my entire life," she swore.

"What about Douche?" he asked grumpily.

"What _about_ him?" she asked, throwing caution to the wind. "I don't love him. I never did. I love you. I always have. You were right. And you were right about me being scared. And about me being a hypocrite and...and...and about EVERYTHING! But I'm not afraid anymore. Biyomon and Hideto helped me. They finally told me exactly what I needed to hear. And I'm sorry for making you wait so long. And I'm sorry for being such a jerk. But I love you. And if you've finally moved on, then that's okay. Just as long as you know that I've loved you forever. And I probably always will. Just...tell me what you think?"

It was silent. Which was odd, of course, since it was a concert arena. But still, you could hear the crickets in the place.

"Oh my god, just ANSWER HER!" Hideto screamed out at Yamato. That caused a few laughs before the chanting started.

"ANSWER HER! ANSWER HER! ANSWER HER!" on and on, louder and louder until it was hurting my ears. And then finally he answered her.

* * *

"The suspense is killing me," Louisa said. "Stop slowing down the story and just tell us already!"

"They're married with two children..." Makoto told her. "You know what happens."

"Shut up," Louisa whined. "You're just gonna ruin it."

* * *

Silence filled the arena again as Yamato purposefully held the microphone in front of his mouth. Sora was waiting with bated breath, Hideto was about to pass out if he didn't just talk already. Ken and I were curious—but not nearly as invested as Hideto. Seriously, what was up with that guy? And why did Sora go to him? I mean, I know now, but that's what I was thinking at the time.

"Sora," he said slowly. "Marry me."

"_What_?!" seemed to be the general reaction of the audience.

"You once told me that I needed to be spontaneous. That I couldn't plan everything. This is me...not planning. Throwing caution to the wind. We've been in love for years. We can do this. If you want to," Yamato said.

"You remembered that?" Sora said, and I could hear the tears in her voice. "That was so long ago." She seemed lost in a memory, and then she shook her head, realizing he was actually waiting for an answer to a very important question that he asked in front of literally ten thousand people. "Of course I'll marry you."

"Really?" Yamato asked sounding genuinely surprised.

"Yes!" Sora shouted. The two were tangled in each other's arms and were kissing intensely. The crowd went wild, and only then did they remember they were on a stage, and that he wasn't finished his concert yet.

"Just, uh, wait backstage, would you?" he asked.

"Okay," she said happily. "Oh, and you owe Hideto one serenade."

"I what?" he asked, before shaking it off. It didn't matter, he was engaged to the girl he'd loved most of his life. And everything was finally okay with them.

* * *

"And he never serenaded me, _ever_," Hideto said grumpily. "I only got him a wife. But I guess that's not good enough for a song."

"I wrote you a song," Kiyoko said. "You said it was perfect and you didn't need any more."

"But...but...please?" Hideto whined.

"I'm not gonna lie," Yamato said. "It'll probably never happen."

"Wasn't that just the most romantic tale you've ever heard?" Louisa sighed, dreamily. "And then you guys got married."

"Just a year later," Sora agreed. "I was pregnant at the time."

"She didn't want to have the baby without being married first," Yamato added.

"I'm old fashion like that," Sora said with a sappy smile.

"And the lucky ducks had the most amazing wedding ever," Taichi grumbled. "No one objected."

"No one dark digivolved," Koushiro said wistfully.

"They didn't have a daughter for anyone to kidnap," Jou reminisced. "And the worlds weren't ending."

"Sora showed up," I said. "_Before_ the guests left."

"She didn't try to run away," Takeru added.

"They didn't have to elope," Iori pointed out.

"It wasn't the dead of night," Willis said.

"Paparazzi didn't try to break in," Michael sighed.

"Absolutely _nothing_ went wrong," Ken said jealously.

"Not true," Sora said. "Yes, it was a lavish event, with lots of beautiful drapery and flowers, _but_, the ribbons for the bouquets were the _wrong_ shade of blue."

"Oh the _horror_," Miyako said, rolling her eyes. No one could really compare to her disaster of a wedding. "Some _ribbon_ wasn't right."

"My mother did the flowers," Sora pointed out. "And she _knew_ what shade of blue Yamato's crest is. And she knew that I had a sash for my waist in the right colour. The flower girls had the right blue, the men had blue ties. Everything was perfectly coordinated, _except_ the ribbon on the bouquets. Seriously, it still haunts me."

"It's true," Shouta slurred, dozing at his sister's side. "She comes to my room crying 'bout it sometimes."

"I don't," Sora said, face flushing bright red.

"No one even noticed the ribbon," Hikari assured her.

"Of course they didn't," Sora said. "I took them off."

"Then what was the problem?" Taichi asked incredulously.

"There were no _ribbons_ on my bouquets!" Sora hissed.

"And then there was the fact that we were pretty much oozing our crests, and affecting everyone around us," Yamato reminded us.

"True," I said. "Everyone was swooning and sighing and disgustingly happy."

"So, yeah," Sora said. "Something bad happened at _my_ wedding too. Something bad—no matter how minor—happened at everyone's. Except Iori's."

"No one got to go to mine," Iori said defensively.

"Mine was alright," Neo said. "Rei, and Alias III were there, and that's all I needed."

"You're MARRIED!" Louisa screeched. "What about Evelen. She's so perfect. You just sunk my favourite ship."

"Whatever," Neo said, rolling his eyes.

"Were you ever going to tell us?" Mimi complained. "Why didn't you bring her today?"

"She was volunteering at the hospital," Neo said. "She said she wasn't ditching it no matter what. And I was fine with it because this day doesn't really mean anything much to me."

"Take that back!" Mimi cried.

"Why?" Neo wanted to know.

But the new fight couldn't escalate into anything, because Hikari came running down the hall, with a big grin on her face. "It's a boy!" she shouted, running over to hug me. "Shin's going to bring him out in a minute. Once Kurayami will let go of him, so he can get cleaned up. Shin's too scared to just take him."

"I would be too," Isao muttered.

"And here he is!" Shin announced, coming into the waiting room with a small blue bundle of joy. "Kurayami named him Yukai, I'm assuming it was the planned name?"

"Yeah," I said. "If it was a boy."

"After her brother?" Hikari asked.

"You bet," I said, holding out my arms as Shin handed me my new son. He was small, and wiggly. But he wasn't crying, which I was thankful for. He had dark, unfocused eyes, and I wondered what shade they would settle into in the months to come. His little fingers were curling and uncurling, and he had a shock of black hair on his head. His face was still bright red, but he looked comfortable.

"Can I see him?" Haruki asked. I held my arms lower, so he could take a look at his brother. "He's so small."

"Not for long," I assured him. "Not for long. You want to hold him?"

"No," Haruki said quickly. "I don't want to break him."

"Okay," I said. Not that he could, but still. I didn't want to force him. Then I remembered: Emiko. She was pregnant, she'd be the next to have a baby. "Hey, Emiko."

"Yeah," she called, standing with her Dad. They weren't quite fixed, but they were close. I was glad for that.

"Come and see what'll make the next nine months worth it," I told her. She looked a tad reluctant, but she came over, and I handed my son over to her. It was something I'd never thought I'd do in a million years, but it made sense in a way.

"Oh my god," she said. "I'm holding a baby. Dad look! I'm holding it. I'm not gonna break it am I? I can't be held responsible if I do. You handed the thing to me."

And I sure regretted that decision. I was wondering how to get my baby back from the demon spawn that is Emiko, when I heard a new voice break through the din.

"Why is it so crowded in here?" a girl with dark—really dark, pretty much black—hair and a stylish black ensemble asked as she tried to weave her way through the hallway. "I was pretty sure there was a limit on occupancy."

"Yeah, well, the digidestined don't do anything by half," Neo joked. She spotted him and her eyes lit up. She walked to him and pecked him on the lips right in front of everyone. I heard lots of little boys gagging at the sight of it.

"No way," Louisa gasped. "Drop dead gorgeous woman, the most beautiful girl I've ever seen...you can't be, there's no way."

"Can't be who?" she asked, looking at Louisa confused.

"Evelen?" Louisa asked nervously.

"Yes?" the woman—Evelen I supposed—said.

"Oh, I _knew_ you two were perfect for each other. I just knew it!" Louisa cried, rushing over and hugging Evelen and Neo both at the same time. The two adults looked quite uncomfortable, but Louisa was having the time of her life. "My OTP is cannon!"

"I'm starting to think that you've convinced all the children we're just characters in your novels, Takeru," Michael said slowly.

"Oops," Takeru said with a laugh. And soon we were all laughing. Despite all of the rough patches, the day turned out pretty great after all. I got a son, Jou and Emiko reconciled. Emiko and her friend might be heading somewhere, Louisa's OTP came true. We all learned a little something about each other, that we never knew before. I thought days like that were passed now that we were getting older. It was nice to know that wasn't true.

"Oh, hey," I called, remembering something important. "Emiko, when's your due date?"

"Oh, yeah," Emiko said with a grin, holding my baby closer to her chest. "Thanks for all the support and whatever, but yeah...I'm not pregnant."

"What?!"

"Yeah, it was all a kind of hoax," she said sheepishly. "I just wanted to see if you'd accept me back if I did the worst thing I could think of. And look at that, you do! Took a bit of work, I'll admit, but I'm so proud of each and every one of you."

I'm pretty sure everyone was glaring at her. I couldn't tell, exactly, since I was glaring at her, and not looking around, but I mean, it was probably a pretty popular reaction. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw both Louisa and Kana take a threatening step towards her, and then everyone was talking all at once. Kana was barely a step away from Emiko—the girl had played her best friend after all, and she was going to get revenge, since we all knew he wouldn't get it for himself—when Emiko shouted above all the noise. "You can't hurt me! I'm holding a baby!"

"Guess the day's not over yet," I said to myself sighing, before setting off to get my baby back.

_**Jou Kido: 10:30 pm**_

The feeling inside me was completely incomprehensible. I'd need time to mull it over really. I was happy. Happy that I'd get another chance when the real deal was finally upon us. Sad though. Sad that I'd been tested on such a personal level only to fail more extremely than I'd ever failed before. I became a monster today, the exact thing I wanted to avoid in life. I wasn't there for my daughter when she needed me, and I treated her in a way that my father scarred me with.

I had to talk to Emiko... but I couldn't. She was crowded.

It took a while before everyone had settled down, but the entire time all I could do was watch as they all flocked around my daughter who could only laugh. Momoe was next to me and I wanted to look to her and ask her what to do before the time came when I was forced to make the final decision, but I could not force myself to look to her, and my mind was blank. There were no solutions to my problem. My problem didn't exist.

The children were sent back away from Emiko while the parents all gave her a piece of their mind, with Jun standing as a body guard for her, not really knowing the true story of what was going on.

Eventually though, everyone had had their say, including my father who was ultimately the one who forced it all to come to an end. All of the fighting was over and Daisuke was able to pop back out of Kurayami's room where he had retreated when the fighting got out of hand.

Everyone sort of returned to their children and separated into families that way everyone always seems to do when the atmosphere tells us that the day is almost over. And that it was. It was nearing time to go home. Of course everyone wanted a chance to see the baby before we all went home, and a few of the kids were sitting together trying to wrack their brains as hard as they could to ensure that they forgot nothing in terms of the stories they had been told.

There was of course. So many things they hadn't heard. None that were important though. Not to them. But to me. To the others. All the little things became the most important parts of our lives. The fights and saving the world—they were our childhood. But we had time to grow up since then. A chance to calm ourselves and live the life of normal people... kind of.

It was strange though. Always hearing these stories retold. The first twenty five years of my life were documented into Takeru's books, and now with the movies, television shows, card games... well, it was impossible to forget the amazing memories we'd all gathered.

The most amazing part of my life was when I was finally married to Momoe though. Because when it was finally settled, the world was also finally at peace. Well... for years to come at least. And that meant I could finally relax and be in love with my wife, and have my children... Of course I had always imagined that Emiko would get herself mixed up with the destruction of the final great evil, but now that it was done and over with as well I could finally relax. She wasn't in danger... nor was she the final great evil... which was good to know as well.

I tried to pretend Emiko wasn't sitting alone at that moment because I didn't know what to say to her. I wanted to tell her to punch me repeatedly until I bled to death. Well not really, but pretty much. I had been so horrible. I wouldn't be surprised if years from now Emiko told stories to her children and referred to me simply as Jerk, just as we had done with Douche today.

"I think I'm going to go talk to her." Momoe said bravely, and without another word she was gone. Her place was filled quickly though by Azura who I was pretty sure had to have been waiting for a chance to talk to me alone judging by the look on his face.

"Hi, sir." Azura said, nervously adjusting his hair. He made eye contact with me and his face flushed quickly so he busied himself with the loose strings on his ripped jeans.

"Hello Azura," I said with a grin, looking away. "Before you say anything, I want to apologize to you."

"Me?" Azura asked, "Why?"

"Because I've set a horrible example." I said, "I've treated my daughter horribly, and forced you to watch as I scrutinized your best friend for being human. I want you to understand that I feel horrible about that. I want you to realize that this person. Me. The person you saw today is the exact opposite of who you should be as a father one day."

"I know." Azura said softly, he quickly shook his head and tried to fix the issue at hand but I laughed and he relaxed a little, "I just mean that you were the opposite of who you really are. And since the person I've always seen you as was a kind and supportive father, I already knew that the man I saw today wasn't the person I wanted to be."

I smiled down at him as he was shorter than me which made me feel happy for some reason. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to butter me up."

"Oh, no sir." Azura said, flustered. "I just wanted to apologize to you. For lying. And for going along with Emiko's plan."

"Azura, I forgive you," I chuckled.

"And also to ask you for Emiko's hand." He said very quickly.

"Marriage?" I asked shocked, "I-I mean sure. I guess. I don't want to regress again, I can't be judgemental. I mean marriage is more mature than a child anyway—sure I mean yeah—I mean, you're dating her?"

"N-no." Azura said. "That's actually what I meant. Permission to date your daughter."

"Ohh..." I said nodding, "I think that would be wonderful Azura." Honestly I was surprised he had enough courage to ask me. From what I'd seen the two of them had been head over heels in love with each other for... a long time. He'd never said a word of it to her as far as I could tell... why did I believe she was pregnant?

"Really?" Azura asked. "I'm gonna tell her!" He was excited. "Eventually. I think I'm going to go throw up now." He was off before I could say anything else so I merely laughed and headed straight to Renjiro. I needed to set things straight with him as well.

I crept up behind him. He was sitting with Iori's family along with the digital half of our own family.

Gomamon and Bearmon were talking with Armadilomon and Natsuni as Goblimon sat silently by Iori's side as he talked to Kana and Renjiro. Upamon and Bukamon were both sleeping in their partner's arms.

"And honestly, I think today turned out alright." Kana was saying, rubbing Upamon's head affectionately.

As I approached Iori's eyes flicked up and locked with mine. I threw my hands up in a defensive form and hung my head. "Hello all," I said politely, if not a tad awkwardly. "I am here to plead for forgiveness." Iori rolled his eyes but smiled.

"You should be good at that." Renjiro pointed out to Iori helpfully.

"I'm sorry, to all of you," I said, mostly looking to Renjiro, "for the way that I acted and I can only hope that you will see it in your hearts to forgive me."

"Holy dramatics." Iori joked. "I forgive you Jou. I understand how flustered you get. You didn't get a chance to let this run through your brain before you were forced to decide how to react. I think we all get it."

"Just don't do it again." Kana finished for him meanly.

"I won't." I promised her cautiously.

"Good." She decided, standing up and turning to face me. "I don't want to hear one day that you've been treating Renjiro poorly."

"Kana," Natsuni warned.

"No," I said, "it's okay. I deserve it. I promise I won't though." I declared firmly. "And thank you for expressing yourself and your concerns for my son, I'm glad he has someone like you around."

Kana blushed and waved her hand as if it was nothing.

"Dad," Renjiro said quickly, reaching up for my hand, and holding it with both of his. "Before you get any more emotional. I want you to know that I forgive you too. I understand not wanting another Emiko around."

"But I—" I stopped myself and just nodded. "Thank you," I told him, ruffling his hair a bit. "Now I have to talk to Emiko. I turned and saw her and Momoe laughing together in the uncomfortable blue waiting room chairs, and suddenly my heart was beating quickly and my chest and throat were burning. "But first I need to vomit."

I turned and set off for the washroom. I threw the door open when I got there and stared at myself in the mirror, running warm water in the tap.

"You can do this Jou." I said to my reflection, "Just go talk to her."

"Funny." Azura said, startling me to no end, "I just said the same thing."

"Well by all means," I said, composing myself. "You go first."

"Well better sooner rather than later, right?" Azura asked sheepishly. And then he was off, out of the bathroom.

I returned to the mirror and gave myself a quick pep talk, and threw some water at my face. I could do this. There was a knock on the door and Gomamon's voice floated through the closed doors, muffled. "Jou are you okay?"

"Fine," I told him.

"Are you throwing up?" He asked. "Because if you are then I don't want to come in."

"I'm not," I laughed.

"Oh good." He relaxed, shoving the door open and slipping inside. "I didn't want to seem like a jerk for not coming in, but seriously I've seen enough human vomit for a lifetime." I knew he was referring to the time that Momoe and I had left for a week long vacation and both Renjiro and Emiko got sick. He didn't tell us though because he didn't want to ruin our vacation, so he dealt with it all by himself. Of course he wanted something out of it, so that's why he did it really, but it was still nice of him. "What's up though?" he asked.

"I just don't know what to say to Emiko." I told him as I washed my hands to busy myself. "I want to apologize, but I know that if I do she won't believe me... I want to tell her that her leaving to school is the most painful thing in the world. Emiko is one of the most important people in my life. I... don't know what I'm supposed to do without her. You know as well as I do that she gives me all kinds of advice for work, and she's actually a really good influence on Renjiro when she's not making him cry. She's a wonderful big sister. I want to tell her to be careful because the world is dangerous, and she's going to be sad a lot. There's nothing I can do to fix that, though I wish I could. She's so fragile even though she likes to pretend she's not... I just wish my mother was here. She was the only good parent I've ever known. She'd know what to do."

"Jou," Gomamon said, uncharacteristically serious. "Your mother was, I'm sure, a wonderful parent, but she wouldn't know what to do any more than you do. Parents make things up as they go. They never know really what's going on. You'd think you'd know that by now." I looked to Gomamon, shutting the tap off, and kneeling down to be closer to his level. "Emiko's a freak. In the best way possible. And I may not be your mother, but I've been around you a pretty long time. Twenty eight years I've known you. And I can honestly say that you just need to tell her exactly what you told me. Just tell her."

"You're right." I said, standing up quickly.

"I know," Gomamon smiled, "Now go. Do it."

"I think I will." I said heading straight for the door and throwing it open. I was halfway down the hall again before I realized that Gomamon would have to find a way to pull the door open from his height if I didn't go back and open it for him, so I did that quickly and he dryly thanked me before setting off down the hall with me.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I heard Emiko say.

Oh good, she was close.

"Something important." Azura's voice responded.

I froze right on at the corner, stopping Gomamon with my foot placed in front of him. He looked up to me to object but I had a finger to my lips. He nodded and we stood as close to the wall as possible. I could see their reflections vaguely in the window of the door that was at the end of the hallway. Emiko was leaning against the wall, relaxed as Azura stood in front of her, trying to compose himself. Running his fingers through his hair again.

"Yes I know," Emiko laughed nervously, "You said that you wanted to talk to me about something important."

Azura made a horrible choking sound and shook his hands as if he was preparing for something very daring. "I just... I'm really going to miss you Emiko, and you're my best friend."

"Your only friend." She said, "I keep telling you to make more friends, your life would be easier—"

"I don't need any other friends though." He said softly. "I just need you. And I promised you that I'd come see you every weekend, but I need you to know why I promised that."

"I already know." She said boldly.

"No, you don't." He said.

"I do." She argued.

"No you don't!" He was insistent.

"Yes I do, you know." She said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You're not very good at hiding it."

"Neither are you." He said with a relaxed laugh.

"Also," Emiko said, stepping closer to him, "I looked up what it means to elope." She giggled.

That, I didn't want to know about, and I turned away as he finally leaned in to kiss her. I was happy, but really didn't need to be around for any kissing my daughter got herself tangled up with. Except the one single kiss on her wedding day.

That was the plan anyway.

"I need to go find my dad." Emiko said finally, "Just wait here, everyone's getting ready to go home anyway, I'll walk you home."

I looked back to the reflection and saw that Emiko was walking toward Gomamon and I and we both frantically looked around for a hiding spot and ran to random places on the wall to inspect them.

"I think this brick is very well kept." Gomamon improvised as Emiko came around the corner.

"This one as well." I nodded, "Interes—hey look it's my daughter!" I looked to Emiko with feigned shock.

"Dad," Emiko rolled her eyes, "You're so weird." She ran up to me and hugged me though. "Renjiro told me you wanted to apologize, and you really don't have to." I shook my head, but she didn't let me talk. "I need to. I turned all your friends and family against you, lied to you, made you feel like a horrible person and put shampoo into the cookies I made you this morning."

"What?" I asked suddenly, but she ignored me.

"I did it because I was scared you didn't love me." I said quietly, "Honestly I've always been kind of afraid of that, but whether you love me or not, the fact that you've always supported me, and even with something this serious you eventually turned around and supported me. And I love you."

"I love you too Emiko. So much." I told her, hugging her. My eyes were watering, but I certainly didn't want Gomamon or Emiko of all people to see that, so I hid it to the best of my ability.

"Also, mom forgave me and says that she'll be the most super supportive grandmother ever one day." Emiko said with a smile, then a sudden giggle, "Also Azura kissed me!"

"Pshhhh!" I hissed, "What? No way. Really?"

"You knew?" She asked, "Whatever. I kind of lied to him too... I hope he doesn't mind. I told him this prank was to get him to open up. Which it sort of was. I involved him because I wanted to give him the chance to tell me that he likes me. It worked."

"I know," I told her. We had all three walked to the end of the hallway together and Emiko's eyes slowly looked toward the window where we could see a group's reflections now.

"You were eavesdropping on me." Emiko declared suddenly.

"No, he asked me if he was allowed to date you that's how I know." I said quickly.

"Maybe but you still eavesdropped." Emiko dared me to lie to her again with her eyes.

"Maybe?" I tried.

"That's so gross and invasive." She shivered, "But it's also very close to mischievous. I like that side of you, Dad. It's nice."

"Ha!" I laughed coldly, "Though Father did once tell me that he forced the prankster out of me when I was young. So I wouldn't be surprised if you brought it back out one day. You're pretty much the exact opposite of him after all."

Emiko started ranting about how funny it was to think of me as a prankster as we rounded the corner and found Momoe waiting with her hand on Renjiro's shoulder. Bukamon was in his arms and Bearmon was at his side. Monmon bound down the hallway and leapt into Emiko's one arm as the other stretched out to take Azura's hand. Gomamon, still walking by my feet looked up with his eyebrow raised and winked at me. I rolled my eyes back at him and wrapped my arm around Momoe as we all set off down the hallway. We didn't really need to say goodbye to the others because we'd see them all soon enough.

We may not exactly be made of perfect families, but all of the imperfect families together made a family of sheer perfection, and there really never is a way to say goodbye to family.

I looked to Emiko and smiled.

Family would always found their way back home.

_**Willis Kennedy: 10:45 pm**_

"Oh thank goodness." Nikko said with a sigh the moment Jou and Momoe had taken their children out of the hospital. "Now that Emiko's gone the real party can begin without fear of condemnation!" He jumped up on a chair and Elliot was on the one next to him in seconds followed by Osamu and Aika. They were dancing like lunatics.

"Guys, that's mean." Tenshi said boldly, his arms crossed with Louisa and Kana on either side of him, imitating his upset face. "There's no need to talk behind Emiko's back."

"Yeah!" Kana agreed, "You can talk to her face and it wouldn't even hurt her feelings."

"No need to be gossips and bullies about it." Louisa finished.

Kids were funny. They were so much more normal than we were when we were younger, probably because their life wasn't always in peril. Though I suppose when we were that age we weren't quite in danger all the time yet either.

"Izumi." Hiro was saying to Izumi whose attention was solely on him. He was on his knees in front of her trying to get her to say her name properly but he was ambushed by Iris and Madlyn who were pulling him to the ground laughing maniacally. Shouta was standing nearby looking like he was having fun without taking part in anything. Like he really wanted to, but didn't think anyone would let him join, so he was happy just watching.

"Are you ready to go home?" Mari asked me, stepping up behind me and slipping her hand into mine.

"Of course," I told her, "I'm always ready—"

"Don't say anything lame." Mari groaned, but I continued anyway.

"Because home is where the heart is, and since you have my heart, as long as I'm with you, I'll always be home."

"God, you're a loser." Mari groaned.

"But I'm _your_ loser." I grinned.

"Ugh." Mari said, "Stop doing that!" she pushed me playfully and then stepped off to say goodbye to Hideto and Kiyoko. I decided it was my duty to round up our children, but like, that wasn't an easy thing to do because our children were pretty much the embodiment of caffeine. Like, if coffee were a person it would be Madlyn. Iris was more like a calming tea, but when mixed with the coffee coursing through Madlyn's blood it was like a deadly explosion of excitement and energy.

"Girls," I said, which caught the attention of Kana and Louisa instead.

"We have names." Kana said boldly.

"I was talking to my daughters." I told her.

"They have names too." Kana said, stepping toward me, "You are discriminating against the female race thinking we all want to be referred to as our gender's label. Well sir, I hope you're proud of who you are because I will officially be calling you Man." Tenshi and Louisa were by her side in a second having given up their attempts to calm the rowdy ones, but man Kana could be mean sometimes. I guess she got that from her dad. "Right Tenshi? Right Louisa?"

"Uhhh" Tenshi hesitated.

"Yeah," Louisa nodded, "Sure." She turned to me, "Hey Willis," she said, giving up immediately, "Can I babysit your kids now?"

"Right now?" I laughed, "No Louisa, we're going home."

"Well whose gonna babysit them right now then?" Louisa asked, "Because you're not, and I don't think Hiro is doing a good job."

"Wait, what?" I asked, turning toward Hiro who was tripping over his own feet on his way out the door. He wasn't chasing my girls was he? I groaned as I looked around the room realizing they must have gone. "Terriermon! Lopmon!" I shouted, rushing from the room with my digimon bounding after me.

"Your kids are a nightmare!" Terriermon called out.

"Kids these days," Lopmon said in return, "Am I right?"

"You are, my friend," Terrerimon agreed, "I mean, we were never this bad!"

"Right?" Lopmon shouted, "I mean we never caused any trouble!"

"Oh please!" I laughed.

"Not in public?" Terriermon tried to remedy their claim.

"Uh huh," I nodded, "And that twenty foot silver statue of the mayor just fell over on its own?"

"Details!" Terriermon defended himself.

"Your kids have done some pretty crazy things too though," Lopmon said, as we rounded a corner. There they were at the end of the hall! We could catch them before anything bad happened. "What about that time they somehow cut off all of the power in the entire city!"

"Lopmon that was one hundred percent you," I laughed again.

"Was it?" Lopmon asked.

"The point is!" Terriermon shouted, "I'm getting too old for this stuff!" Lopmon nodded in agreement and I couldn't help but laugh. They could still do back flips through flaming hoops. I would know. We tested their agility just last week. They were _not_ too old for this stuff.

We reached the point where we'd seen the girls and looked down the hall and groaned. There were two directions and I didn't watch to see where they'd gone.

"They're this way." Terriermon said, pointing left. "My distinctly canine sense of smell tells me so." I grinned at him and turned left, heading down the hallway. We headed straight for the end and turned the only direction and I laughed once more.

"Zoomi fell sleep." Iris explained to me. She was sitting next to Izumi who was curled up on the floor with Iris stroking her hair roughly in her attempts to be gentle. Madlyn was down the hall doing somersaults in a repetitive fashion. I picked up Izumi and motioned for the others to follow me. "Come on girls, let's go back, okay?"

The girls followed me along with Terriermon and Lopmon all the way back to the waiting room.

"You all need to leave." A nurse was telling them, "Only family members allowed."

"We _are_ family," Agumon was trying to explain.

"You?" The nurse asked, "You're an orange lizard and the patient is an asian woman."

"I was adopted!" Agumon shouted in frustration.

"We're leaving anyway," Taichi said defeated, "its fine. Chill lady."

Mari caught sight of me and made her way toward me, picking up Madlyn who was trying to climb her leg. Hideto was standing by the door so I handed off his daughter and picked Iris up for myself.

"Leaving now?" Hideto asked.

"Hopefully." I smirked. I was definitely ready for sleep.

"Michael!" Mari called. Michael turned and saw that we were by the door and he lit up like a Christmas tree. He grabbed Tatum's hand and motioned for Monodromon and Betamon to join him on his way toward us. Louisa and her Hopmon were there a moment later, and Chapmon was dragging Elliot away from his friends.

"Bye nurse girl," Michael called out to her, waving. I rolled my eyes and waved to everyone else while Elliot tried to wave to his friends one last time before being dragged out of the room. Louisa shouted a farewell to Tenshi and Kana and then we were gone. Finally.

_**Mimi Izumi: 10:55 pm**_

"Mimi," Palmon said, hopping onto the chair beside me. "Why aren't you talking to anybody?"

"I don't feel like it," I lied, not looking her in the eye. I just nestled myself further into the corner I was hiding away in.

"Why are you over here, when the celebration is over there?" Palmon pressed.

"Because I'm mad okay," I said with a huge, overly dramatic sigh.

"At who?" Palmon wanted to know. "Me? Is it me? I can leave if it's me."

"Not you," I said, grabbing her arm before she could get away. "Me. I'm mad at myself. I'm always doing stupid stuff. Why can't I be smarter? Everything would be better if I was."

"You don't believe that," Palmon scolded.

"I do," I told her. "Look at them. They don't even care that I'm not there. They're just talking to each other, because they don't _love_ me anymore." And then I started crying. Big, fat teardrops, splashing down on my lap, my shoulders shaking, as Palmon and I watched my own family stand there and ignore me. Okay, maybe they weren't _ignoring_ me, so much as they didn't see me. I _was_ hiding in the corner, between two chairs, on the floor, after all. But still. They were talking about me!

"Dad," Makoto said warily, cradling his Tanemon in his arms, rocking him back and forth. Tanemon's eyes were drooping, and he snuggled deeper into Makoto's arms with a contented sigh. "Are we allowed to go home, yet?"

"What exactly are you referring to?" Koushiro asked.

"Mom banished Chika, remember?" he pointed out.

"Chika's not banished," Koushiro said firmly, looking directly at Chika who didn't look so sure—despite the fact that she _still_ didn't know what banished meant... "Your mother always does things like this. She's impulsive. She tries to help, and eventually she'll get her way, but she doesn't always think things through. She's apologized eleven times so far. Which is more than usual, so I'm sure she didn't _mean_ it."

"You say that, yeah," Makoto said. "But I don't know if she means it. She's always doing stuff like this. She says things, mean things, and then apologizes, but like, why not just _not_ say the mean things at all?"

"She's had this problem for years," Koushiro told our son. I was scandalized, and stared at him, still crying to myself. Palmon slid off her chair, and moved it out of the way so she could sit directly beside me on the freezing cold hospital floor. She wrapped her arms around me, and I felt better. Marginally, but still...better. "No matter how many times she tries to change this about herself, she ends up doing it again."

"She should try again," Makoto said, glancing at his little sister, who was snuggling up with Koushiro, hugging him around the legs, while her Motimon hugged hers. "Because this sucks."

"This time is different," Koushiro said. "I'll give you that. And she definitely should've thought it through more before involving Chika, yes. But I don't _want_ her to change."

I gasped, and starred at him in awe. Palmon held my hand and squeezed it tight. She was smiling at me. I could almost bring myself to smile back. _Almost_.

"But Dad," Makoto complained.

"It's a part of who she is, son," Koushiro said. "It's one of her _many_ quirks. And it is probably her least desirable one, I'll give you that. But she puts up with Chika's wild imagination, and she learned that secret language _just_ so she could communicate with her on a more personal level. She goes to all of your plays, even though she doesn't like acting—says it's just masking your true self—but she supports you anyway. She puts up with your blunt carelessness. Chika's every whim. She'd drop anything just to go play with the two of you outside if you want her to. You know this. She puts up with all of our quirks, because she loves us very much. And if she can do all of that, can we not accept that she has a few peculiar habits of her own?"

"But she made Chika cry," Makoto argued.

"I made your mother cry," Koushiro told him. "Multiple times. I couldn't communicate very well. I still can't. She just understands me better now. I used to ignore her rather than try to deal with her, but that didn't work. I picked a computer over her, and _that_ clearly didn't gain me much appreciation. She puts up with so much from me. She's the _only_ reason that _I_ haven't been the one making you two cry. She's patient. I have so very many faults compared to her few. So please, give her a chance."

"I got grounded the last time I made Chika cry," Makoto said stubbornly.

"He did," Chika agreed, finally pulling her face out of Koushiro's pant leg. "For two whole days."

"He threw a rock at your head," Koushiro said, raising his eyebrow. "Somehow, I'm sure this is a very different situation."

"I think it's worse than a rock," I said loudly, pushing myself to my feet, wiping away the few stubborn teardrops that just wouldn't quit coming. "I made her doubt me. I'm her _mom_. She should always be able to come to me with things. I can't go around banishing my children to prove a point to Jou. I should've thought of a different way."

"You should have," Koushiro nodded.

"I know I should have," I said. "But I didn't. And I don't think I deserve forgiveness for this. So don't forgive me. Can we just, move passed it anyway? I miss you guys."

"It's only been, like, an hour," Makoto said looking at me like I was crazy.

"An hour with my kids mad at me? For something that isn't taking the garbage out, or rinsing your dishes, or picking up toys, or bedtime or getting grounded. I _banished_ her. I didn't mean it, _obviously_, I was just making a point that Jou could hopefully understand. But still. I betrayed their trust. How can you guys ever believe in me again?"

"Well..." Makoto said with a slow, wicked smirk. "I can think of a _few_ things."

"You're not getting a raise on your allowance," Koushiro told him. "And you're not getting a 'Get out of grounding' free pass. This isn't a game of monopoly."

"Fine, take away the really good and usefully things," Makoto pouted. "Can you take Chika and me to the amusement park? Or is that a no-no too."

"I _like_ the big rides," Chika grinned. "And the spinny rides. And the swings, and the loopy ones. I like _all_ the rides!"

"You sure do," I smiled. "You take after your mama. Dad's a party pooper. He doesn't like any of them."

"Not true," Koushiro protested immediately. "The Ferris wheel isn't too bad, and the swings, and...and the merry-go-round. So there you go. Three rides."

"All the _baby_ rides," Makoto teased. "Can we go? We'd even forgive you if we can go."

"Yep, yep," Chika agreed quickly.

"I don't know," I said slowly, fighting off a grin. They would _forgive _me! "It feels an awful lot like I'd just be bribing you to do that, and I don't want to be _that_ parent."

"You'd rather be the parent that banishes kids for losing their shoes?" Makoto said, raising his eyebrow in an eerily Koushiro-esque way.

"In my defense, they were really cute shoes, and expensive, and your grandmother hired a cobbler specifically to make them," I pointed out. "And your grandmother is quite terrifying."

"You _banished _her," Makoto repeated. Koushiro was laughing—the traitor. He was far more scared of my mother than _I_ was. "I think she deserves some sort of compensation."

"Then shouldn't it be Chika that chooses?" I asked.

"Touché," Makoto said.

"I like the museum," Chika said, starting her list. "And the planet-ar-i-um, and the zoo. And—"

"No you don't," Koushiro said grumpily. "I would know. I've only been trying to get you to go to one your whole life."

"But Mommy doesn't like them either," Chika said quietly. "And she would get bored, and she wouldn't like it. And I didn't like it when she was mean to me."

"Chika," I sighed, getting down on my knees, and holding my arms open for her to come into. She did. But reluctantly. I hugged her with all my might. "I love you. And I can _never_ say it enough times. You aren't banished. If I ever say it again, just ignore me. Because I won't mean it. I will never mean it. Seeing Jou with Emiko today. Seeing how scared he is to see her leave. I'm like that. I don't ever want you to go."

"I'm five," Chika said.

"I know," I said, feeling the tears come back. "But times flies when you're older sweetie. I feel like if I blink for just a _second_ too long, you'll be grown up, and I'll have missed it. Soon, you'll be winning your first science fair or spelling bee. Makoto will graduate and move on to secondary school. I'll miss first dates and dances. Graduations. I'll be sending you both off to school before I know it, and then there'll weddings and babies. I'll miss it all."

"I'm still five," Chika said.

"And I'm not going to ever go on dates, or get married, or have kids," Makoto assured me. "So you wouldn't be missing too much anyway."

"You say that now," I teased. But I sobered up quickly. "I don't want to miss _anything_. So I will _never_ actually banish you."

"At most, you'd be banished to your room," Koushiro added. "Because you'd be grounded."

"Oh," Chika said. "So I'm grounded?"

"No," I said. "We'll tell Grandma that the shoes were too small now, so we gave them to charity."

"We're gonna lie to Grandma?" Chika and Makoto asked with awe in their eyes.

"Of course," I said. "She's scary. But you can never lie to me or your father, is that clear?"

"Yeah," Makoto said. Chika just nodded.

"Okay," I said with grin. Now let's get you two home, it's _way_ passed bed time," I pointed out.

"But no one else is gone," Makoto whined. I gestured for him to look around. He did so, and realized that there weren't very many people and digimon left after all. Daisuke was still hanging out with his baby, and so his son and corresponding digimon were still present. Yamato and Sora looked like they were trying to get Aika to leave, so they'd be gone soon. Hikari was still in with Kurayami, but Takeru had the two boys and their digimon in the waiting room, fittingly _waiting _for Hikari to come out so they could go home. "Oh," Makoto said softly.

"Yeah, oh," I said. "Now let's go catch the bus, shall we?" I scooped Motimon up into my arms, and Tentomon flew above Makoto—who still held his Tanemon. Chika was nestled in Koushiro's arms, where she was falling asleep with her head propped up on his shoulder. Palmon walked at my side, and winked at me.

"I told you were perfect," Palmon said. "That you didn't need to change. I know that they love you, and when you love someone, you don't _need_ them to change. And I love you Mimi."

"I love you too, Palmon," I said, my heart full of happiness. Yes, I did a stupid thing today, but I was probably going to do stupid things tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. It was a part of who I am. And I couldn't change that. And I didn't want to. Not when being myself led me to this family of mine. I loved them and wouldn't change them for the world.

But I might have to get some tickets to the amusement park...

_**Yamato Ishida: 11:00 pm**_

"When're you leaving?" Takeru asked me casually as I leaned against the door way, watching Sora continue to struggle with Aika. The girl was usually so calm, it was only when she was tired that she reminded me she was the age she really was. Usually she was fairly mature and fit in with the older kids, and more often than not chose to play with them rather than the younger kids. Though I suppose that could have something to do with Chika and how she was the only one Aika's age, and she never played with anyone except her imaginary friends...

"Soon hopefully." I responded immediately.

"Lucky." Takeru joked, "Hikari is apparently needed to keep Kurayami happy. Which is odd, you'd think she'd want to like... hold her baby."

"I don't think Daisuke wants to let him go," I said with a flick of my eyebrows. Takeru laughed as we both looked to Daisuke and Veemon who were practically smothering the baby as Haruki tried to keep just one eye on his new brother. The brother that was named after Kurayami's brother... or something. All I knew of that story was what was in Takeru's books. No one really ever talked about that... no one has ever still talked about it, even after the books. Our best kept secret I guess.

Our only kept secret... only not really. It was written into a famous book series for the world to read about. So. Whatever.

"Daddy," Aika said, jumping up to me, "Look, listen, sweetheart." She put her hand on my leg and batted her eyes. Takeru snorted, "Mommy is making me go home."

"It's time to go home, that's why." I laughed, leaning down and picking her up. She started screaming and squirming and trying desperately to get out of my arms, but I just kissed her forehead and she screamed louder, but stopped squirming and instead tried to wipe my disgusting germs off of her face.

"Can I sleep at your house?" Aika asked suddenly turning to her uncle.

Takeru looked shocked, and then looked to me for an answer before answering himself, but I saved him the effort. "You have a soccer match tomorrow and you're going to lose if you don't relax and get home to sleep."

"If I don't win that means Nikko wins." Aika said very quietly.

"That's riiiight," Sora said, catching up with Shouta in her arms.

"And if you don't win we can't buy you any celebratory ice cream." Takeru said, swiping his fist through the air in fake disappointment... though maybe it was real disappointment. Takeru craved ice cream more than all of the pregnant women I'd ever seen combined.

"I get ice cream if I win?" She asked slowly. "Kay, let's get home." She squirmed out of my arms and slid to the ground. "Yokomon!" Yokomon wasn't far off and was quick to jump into Aika's arms. "We have to get home. We'll practice together before the game tomorrow, okay?"

"Sounds good!" Yokomon said brightly before letting her face fall, "Unless you're using me as the ball again."

"No, Mom bought a new one." Aika said laughing. I tried to pretend Takeru wasn't looking horrified at my daughter. It wasn't like we didn't punish her for using her friend as a ball. I didn't need the lecture.

I did however let my eyes wander until they caught sight of Gabumon and Biyomon who were walking toward us, the latter holding Tsunomon in her arms and talking to him comfortingly. Apparently Tsunomon was just as tired as Shouta, because both of them were in a state very near sleep. The way kids sometimes bob up and down and fail at staying awake, but try desperately anyway.

"Are we ready to go?" Biyomon asked, looking up to her partner and rubbing her head on Sora's leg affectionately, still holding Tsunomon.

"Of course." Aika nodded, turning to lead the way out of the room.

"See ya later uncle Takeru," Aika winked to Takeru then she left without another word.

"I guess we're gone," Sora laughed, "Bye Takeru," Sora smiled before rushing after our daughter.

I took one look around the room first, it was hard to believe another year passed so quickly, and hard to believe it had been twenty eight since our first trip. Every year celebrating so many anniversaries became hard to keep track of, and yet somehow, even with birthdays and wedding anniversaries and everything else, this was the one everyone cared about most. Not that there was a lot of time left of the night. Just another hour and a half...

I shrugged and waved to Takeru, letting Gabumon go ahead of me, and then leaving the waiting room. Today was possibly the least fun I'd had in a long time. Not only did we start a war that pitted me against my wife, there was also a lot of crying, and noise... not to mention bringing up horrid memories about how dumb I was in the past.

"You okay?" Gabumon asked.

"No," I laughed sheepishly, "I just don't like remembering the past."

"Oh," Gabumon said simply. I thought I'd offended him, so I just kept my mouth shut. I was tired and figured I'd just make it worse, and it wasn't until we reached the end of the hallway, but he spoke again. "I do." Was all he said.

"Do you?" I asked as cautiously as I could.

"I do." Gabumon said, looking up and thinking. "I like to think of the memories I have with you, and with Takeru and Patamon and Sora and Biyomon."

"Not my kids?" I asked with a grin.

"Oh them too," Gabumon nodded, "Of course them too!" He was practically frantic to make sure I understood that he liked my kids.

"I know," I laughed, "I know. I like to think of those memories too," I told him quietly, "I dunno. I guess I just don't like thinking about how sad I was." I shrugged it off as if it were nothing—which, honestly, now it was nothing, but at the time, it was definitely painful.

"Are you sad now?" Gabumon asked seriously without making eye contact. He knew me well enough to know he'd never get any honest emotional answers out of me if we made eye contact.

"No," I smiled, "I'm not."

"Then the sadness you went through to get here to true happiness is what you should be proud of." Gabumon said, "The journey you took was stressful and hard, but you made it here. You're here now in a world of happiness and of love, and you fought through the sadness all by yourself. You're very strong now because of it."

"I didn't do any of the fighting," I said, ruffling his fur. "That was all you."

"Well yes," Gabumon agreed without hesitation. "But that was all physical fighting. You fought your own battles alone."

"No," I said shaking my head, "That was you too. You helped me through. Couldn't have done that without you." Gabumon looked away immediately and I knew he was blushing, but he played it off well, staring up to the sky.

The night was warm and bright, like any other summer night, and I relaxed as we made our way to the van where Sora was doubled over inside buckling Shouta into his seat. It made me wince to see the damned van... I mean, I was all for family safety and all that, but I'd gotten rid of my motorcycle to get the van. Which was simply not a fair trade.

Gabumon threw the side door open and Aika laughed and giggled as Gabumon climbed over her, tickling her on the way to get to the back seat to sit with Biyomon, Yokomon and Tsunomon. Not that there were enough seat belts for all eight of us, but there wasn't much we could really do about that. I mean what were we supposed to do? Get a limousine?

I instinctively got into the passenger seat because I refused to be seen driving a van even by my family, and finally Sora was getting into the driver's seat.

"Nice of you to join us." Sora said coldly.

"Well it looked to me like you had it covered." I said quietly, unsure of where her comment was coming from. "I mean, Shouta hates when I buckle him in."

"Well you're not very gentle." Sora said with a shrug, starting the car and pulling out to start on our way home. Finally.

"I'm not as detail oriented as you. I just throw him in and buckle him in." I said, "Why does it have to be done smoothly?"

"Because he's a baby?" Sora pointed out.

"He's like four!" I argued, but kept my voice quiet. I looked to the mirror and saw that Aika and Shouta were both sleeping already. Apparently it had been quite a busy day for them.

"Are we mad at each other?" Sora asked sharply. "I mean I'd like to know." She was suddenly very timid and distant, "I don't know why we would be, but... are we?"

"Nah," I said, "I'm not mad at you at least. Maybe it's just all those dumb stories. We probably got caught up in all our teenage angst."

Sora laughed out loud using her beautiful, genuine laugh. "That was only a few years ago I'll have you know. We were by no means teenagers."

"We were teenagers at heart." I said with a smile. "I mean I was trying to be some lame rock star, and you were trying to understand the meaning of love."

"Both of those are still true today though." Sora said with a sly sort of smile and sideways glance.

"Ah, yes," I smiled back, "Well I guess we're still teenagers then. No need to get old anyway."

Sora was relaxed now, "Well you'd better call the teenage wolves—we're getting the band back together!" Sora laughed, but I just shook my head.

"No see, we may not have aged, but the boys have." I said with a worried expression, "Have you seen em?"

"I have." Sora laughed, "Though I wasn't going to say anything."

"Well I wasn't going to say anything to you either." I said, "But you're getting old too."

"Hey!" Sora laughed, "Well so are you Mr Rockstar."

"There's no one else I'd rather get old with than you though." I told her with a smirk, reaching over to grab her hand.

"Ditto." She said.

"Ditto?" I asked, "You're the digidestined of love and all you have to say is 'ditto'? No, 'I'll love you until the end of time' or 'You are the one, you always have been and always will be,'? Or how about 'You are the one I'd like to chase kids off my lawn with while clutching a dusty old broomstick and a battered rag shouting like a lunatic'?"

"That's what ditto means silly," Sora said squeezing my hand. "I do love you."

I beamed at her—I wasn't sure I could never get over hearing her say that. "Ditto."

_**Kurayami Motomiya: 11:05 pm**_

"I just think maybe if you tried smiling then the frustration would go away?" Hikari practically pleaded.

I responded with a snarl.

"Hikari's right." Labramon nodded.

"My husband won't give me my baby back." I said through gritted teeth. Which was true. I had the baby. I was happy. Daisuke took the baby out to meet Haruki and then just didn't come back!

Untrue. He slipped back in for a moment when there was an outbreak of an argument outside.

_The door opened and Daisuke flung himself inside as if he were being chased by a madman, my baby wrapped in his arms. I was relieved to see this, so I tried to stand, but Hikari, always one to follow the Doctor's rulings, kept me still. Probably a good thing. There were nurses in the room doing whatever nurses do, and I didn't want them to restrain me._

"_Oh good," I said, content with staying in my bed. "You've decided to return my baby to me."_

_Daisuke looked to me confused, "What are you talking about?" He asked._

"_The baby." I said, "In your arms. Give it to me." I held my arms out, trying to keep a positive expression._

"_Oh!" Daisuke laughed. "Right." I nodded laughing along with him. "This baby." He looked to the baby in his arms._

"_Yes, that one." I said flatly._

"_This isn't Yukai." Daisuke said firmly._

"_What are you talking about yes it is that is my son I want him, I want my son." I was not happy anymore._

"_No," Daisuke laughed, "that's funny you'd think that. This isn't Yukai though, no, no." Daisuke shook his head. "It's...Emiko's baby."_

"_That's not true you're a liar." I was speaking all my words quickly with no breaks as if they were all one word, and I didn't care because I knew the message was solid._

"_No, not a liar, just a kidder," Daisuke said, "I was just kidding."_

"_Oh," I sighed, "Well I'm not in the mood, give me my baby."_

"_I'll go find him," Daisuke nodded, turning to the door._

"_HE'S IN YOUR ARMS DAISUKE." I bellowed._

_Daisuke laughed, "This is Shouta." And then he left._

Just like that. Gone.

"I want my baby." I declared.

"I know, I know," Hikari comforted me, patting my shoulder, "And if you let me leave I'll go get him for you."

"You can't leave me." I said, grabbing her wrist tightly. "I need the two of you to be around me right now. You know I fear nurses."

"Which makes no sense." Hikari said soothingly.

"When I was younger they chased me and stole my candy." I told her quietly.

"And I don't believe that at all." Hikari sighed. "Like, not at all."

"Well it was Halloween, and the little girls all dressed up as nurses and they took my candy and left me in the rain to cry. They called me a maggot." I explained. It was a bad day. I never liked that day.

"Why were you in the rain to begin with?" Hikari asked, "And why did they call you maggot?"

"Well I was dressed as a maggot." I explained.

"Well that's a... well..." Hikari stuttered, "Costumes are fun." She decided.

I glared at her. She was being so rude to me. How could she not love my costume? She just didn't understand the beauty of it, and I never would know beauty either because I didn't have my baby and I just really wanted him back.

Labramon looked up to me and chuckled, "Are you crying?"

"No that's dumb!" I shot, turning from him and wiping my eyes. "I just want my baby."

"Well, call someone else to come wait for you and I'll get the baby." Hikari suggested.

I gaped at her, "You want to steal my baby, too? Don't you?" I sat up straighter, "HUH? YEAH. I SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOUR LITTLE PLAN. You can't hide from _me_! I have a sister who rules all nine worlds."

"Norn!" Hikari reminded me her name. I knew her name. What the heck kind of a person did she take me for—oh. She was telling me to call Norn!

I snapped my fingers, "Norny-bear!" I called out.

A light appeared at the end of my bed and it grew into the familiar shape of Norn who was now in the body of an eighteen year old girl. She grew slower, but if she had to live forever I guess that seemed fair.

"I was wondering when you'd invite me over!" Norn smiled, "Where's the little squirt? I wanna see him!" I smiled maliciously.

"That's what I need your help with." I said slyly. "I need you to kidnap Daisuke and take him to a remote corner of the universe so I can have my baby back. It's up to you Norny-bear."

"Seriously, you need to not call me that." Norn rolled her eyes, and turned, "I'll get your baby back."

Norn left the room quickly, and Hikari looked to me, shocked. "You don't think she'll really take Daisuke away, do you?"

"Nah," I shrugged. "She never has. Not after that first time. It took her a week to find him. He got lost trying to find his way home." Hikari's jaw dropped, but I didn't care, because Norn was coming back into the room, dragging Daisuke by his ear. In his arms was my beautiful baby boy.

"Found him." Norn said with a smirk. She released Daisuke and took Yukai from him gently, and yet forcefully at the same time. She looked to the baby in her arms as she walked toward me and smiled to him as she set him gently into my arms.

Relief washed over me as I looked down to the ugly little potato in my arms. I loved him though. In a different way than I loved usual potatoes. Like in a way that I didn't want to put him in a bowl and mash him up to serve with gravy. I loved him in a—in a Haruki kind of way.

I looked up to my eldest son as he was now standing next to Labramon, Demiveemon on his head. "Do you want to hold him?"

"Oh so he's allowed to hold him." Daisuke whined.

I turned to him and saw the room turn dark around us as I hissed at him ferociously.

"N-no." Haruki shook his head, catching my attention and making me forget about Daisuke quickly causing the room to return to normal. "I don't want to hurt him."

"You won't." I assured him.

Haruki looked from me to the baby to Hikari and then back to the baby and nodded. "Yeah I'll do it." Slowly and bravely he reached to the baby in my arms and gently took him from me. Haruki froze as he beamed down at the little child in his arms. "He's cute." He decided.

Yukai lifted his arm ever so slightly and Haruki jumped, thinking the child was falling, and in doing so, the baby rolled out of his arms and cascaded toward the floor.

"MY BABY!" I shrieked, "YOU KILLED MY BABY!"

"No it's okay!" It was Veemon, holding Yukai above his head. I tore my baby away from him and back to my arms. "I caught him." Veemon looked proud.

"Thank God." I whispered holding Yukai tightly.

"I think I'll go now, if that's alright." Hikari said, brushing her hair behind her ears. "There're enough people here now to save you from the nurses."

"Okay," I nodded, "Thank you Hikari. So much. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!" She called back, leaving the room, leaving room for Norn and Daisuke to take her side of the bed.

"It's not your fault." I assured Haruki quickly, "You didn't drop him on purpose. Don't worry, just be more careful next time."

"Next time?" Haruki asked, "Nu-uh. Never holding him again. I want him to live."

"Oh me too." I smiled.

"Okay," A doctor who was most certainly not Shin, nor Isao, said, popping into the room. "Visiting hours are over, you'll all have to leave now."

"Go away." I said, "I just had a baby. I need them."

"They can come back in the morning." The doctor told me.

The word morning rang through my head on repeat. Did he really expect me to stay overnight? Alone? In this tiny room with nurses patrolling the corridors. Nu-uh. No sir. Nope. I was getting out of here.

"I'll be going home too then." I said with a nod, sitting up and preparing to get out of bed.

The doctor laughed and came into the room, "Nonsense, you'll stay here over night. It's no trouble."

No trouble, huh? We'll see about that. The doctor then ushered Norn, Daisuke, Haruki, Demiveemon and Veemon out of the room. He didn't see Labramon at first because he hid under the bed in his noble attempt to go undetected, but Labramon was found and led out as well leaving me alone in the scariest place possible, holding my wonderful baby.

The doctor left and I threw the covers off of me and got up to make a run for it, but a nurse entered the door as I tried to leave.

"You should be resting!" She insisted.

"GET AWAY!" I shrieked, running to the opposite wall where I was backed up against a large window. "Don't touch me!"

"I-I... okay." The nurse nodded, "Are you okay?"

"How dare you ask me about my personal feelings." I said with a snarl. I looked to the window and saw Daisuke and the others at least four stories below, in the parking lot. And I had an idea.

"Goodbye my dear sweet nurse. I hope you have a nice life." I said, kicking the window open.

"NO!" The nurse cried out as I leapt through the open window, holding my baby close to me.

"LABRAMON SAVE ME." I demanded. Labramon was instantly in his mega form catching me gracefully and gradually so as not to disrupt my baby too much.

"MOM YOU FREAK!" Haruki laughed hysterically as Daisuke checked to see if Yukai was still alive. He was. Because I knew how to break out of hospitals.

"Let's go home." I smiled to the others, leading the way to the car.

_**Neo Saiba: 11:10 pm**_

I closed the door behind us as we stepped into our home. Dracomon was already off, flittering about the kitchen trying to find something to eat, Evelen was laying on the couch, still in her jacket and boots and I was still locking the door.

"Rough day?" I asked Evelen who looked up to me with raised eyebrows and then dropped her head back down again.

"That's an understatement." Evelen said, finally sitting up. "I had to give six people sponge bathes today." She shuddered, "Remind me again why I volunteer there?"

"Because you don't like getting people drunk every night by being a bartender so you thought it would a nice way to show you do actually care about people's well beings." I recited to her, the same way I would every night.

"Right, right," She smiled. "Well it is worth it." She decided, standing up and untying her jacket and taking it off. She strode across the room to hang it up and then started on her boots when she paused. She was thinking again.

"Something wrong?" I asked her as I made my way to the opposite end of the room.

"What?" She asked, looking up with a half hearted smile, "No, nothing." She said, unzipping her boots.

"Nothing is always something," I reminded her, "What is it?"

I knew it wouldn't take much coaxing to get her to open up. Honesty was a policy in our relationship, and it had been since day one. Although getting her tragic back story didn't happen until later, but still, in most cases, honesty was the policy and I knew she was about to tell me what was wrong.

She had her boots off now and she lined them up perfectly—our house was never a mess—ever. She stood and looked to me with a sigh. "I was just... wondering." She said, "Since you always seem so happy after spending time with your friends... are you sure you're okay without having kids?"

"Evelen," I said, breathing deeply, I moved across the room and hugged her, "Of course I am. Kids are gross."

"I agree," Evelen decided, "But even so, you love kids."

"I do," I told her honestly, "But I'm glad I don't have any of my own. But if you want one... we could talk about it?"

"Oh God no!" Evelen laughed, "No, I don't want any kids. I was just worried that..."

"I might leave you to find someone capable of giving me what I need?" I asked, and she nodded. "Well that would be really hard to find anywhere except for right here. You are everything I've ever needed. Well, you and Dracomon." I heard a muffled, "Thank you!" from the kitchen, "I don't need any kids. I don't want any kids."

"Maybe... one day we could invite more than just Nikko over?" Evelen asked, "I liked that one girl. The American one!"

"Louisa," I laughed a little, "Well she liked you too."

"I know!" Evelen joked, "Why do you think I like her so much?"

"Neo!" Dracomon called, "I need your help, I can't find the peanuts!"

"Move stuff around!" I shouted to him, "You didn't even look! Move stuff around!"

"I can't, I don't want to." Dracomon argued.

"Besides," I said to Evelen, retreating to the kitchen, "We've got this little dweeb."

Evelen laughed as Dracomon barked, "I heard that!"

"You were meant to!" I said in a sing song voice before grabbing the peanuts off of the counter right in front of Dracomon.

_**Kiyoko Izumi: 11:10 pm**_

"Next year, I say we just don't go," Hideto told me as he hung his black coat on his hook by the door. I was juggling Izumi and her large diaper bag, waiting for him to take one, so I could remove my own coat—white, long and water-proof. He had made fun of me when I insisted on packing coats before we'd left. _'We won't be there long, it's not going to get cold, we don't need them!'_ But I was right. It was nearing eleven, and the night's chill had set in. He'd asked for his coat immediately upon leaving the hospital. I'd thought about not giving it to him, saying I hadn't packed his since he thought we wouldn't need it, but I gave in when he turned his pleading eyes on me.

After so many years, he could still get away with anything.

"You say that now," I sighed. "But you'll change your mind."

"No I won't," he swore. "They'll just make us tell stories again. Why did _we_ have to tell the stories? We don't lead very interesting lives."

"I think our lives are _very_ interesting," I protested. "I live with _you_. We were evil, now we're good. I'm an architect, and you're a high school councillor. We've got a baby girl. And there're so many digimon in our day-to-day activities that it's ridiculous. We're not boring."

"We've got two of the most boring jobs ever," Hideto pointed out.

"Not to us. You love being a councillor. And architecture is my passion. It makes me feel alive in a way that only_ you've _achieved otherwise. At least we're not _accountants_. That would definitely be boring," I said.

"I just wish we'd had better stories. I know most of those kids wanted real action, save-the-world type stuff. But I don't have any more of those. When did our lives get boring?" he complained.

I was still standing there, _waiting_ for him to offer to take our daughter, only now I was glaring at him. "I don't think we're boring. I'm sorry I'm not interesting enough for you."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," he argued.

"Yeah well, if you're going to complain about your lot in life, you could at least take your daughter so I could properly storm away," I snapped, shoving Izumi—as gently as I could since I was hoping she'd fall asleep soon, though she was stubbornly fighting it—into his arms, throwing her diaper bag on the floor, and ripping my coat off and dropping it on top of the bag. I then glared at him and stalked off. Yes, I was aware I was acting like a teenager, but I was tired, my daughter would probably be awake for another hour or two, so I wouldn't be allowed to sleep until then, and my boyfriend—because that's what he still was after years and years, and I thought life-partner sounded silly, since that's technically what Tapirmon already was and you couldn't really have _two_ of them—was complaining that our life together was boring.

"Kiyoko!" Hideto shouted after me. I ignored him, and slammed our bedroom door, throwing myself face down on the bed. There was a gentle tapping. I knew it was Tapirmon. I called for him to leave me alone, but he ignored my requests, and came in anyway.

"Don't you think you're over reacting?" Tapirmon inquired.

"Probably," I admitted. Talking into the mattress. "But I'm mad. And it's not fair. We're not boring. We're _not_."

"Don't you think saving the world and peaceful living are very different things?" Tapirmon wanted to know.

"I know they are," I said, rolling over onto my back, starring at the ceiling. "But I like what we have now more than saving the world. I like that the world is safe and that we don't have to go around risking our lives anymore. I like that our daughter isn't going to know how _scary_ it is to have to go out and save the world. I don't _want_ Izumi to be exposed to forces like Sigma. I don't want her to _ever_ be like me. I like being at peace. I don't want to see evil anymore. Not true evil. And I don't want her to see any."

"I think you're looking too deep into this..." Tapirmon said, trailing off.

"I'm exhausted, and I've been thinking about the past a lot today," I said with a sigh. "And I don't get why he's not happy with me. Aren't I enough for him?"

"You're really sensitive, you know that?" Hideto said, opening the door, holding a squirming Izumi in one arm. She'd been crying, and my heart sank, knowing that I was the probable cause. She caught sight of me and leaned over in Hideto's arm, stretching both her hands out towards me. I rolled off the bed, onto my feet and took her from him. I bounced her on my hip, refusing to meet Hideto's eyes.

"Oh come on!" he said, jumping onto the bed behind me. He was kneeling, bouncing, trying to get my attention, but I didn't want to give in.

"Kiyoko," Tapirmon tried.

"Listen, listen, listen," Agumon and Gabumon chanted, jumping on the bed on either side of Hideto. DemiMeramon was clearly asleep in his pot—turns out all bed materials are highly flammable, so we ended up with kitchen appliances on a hot pad—snoring. It was actually really, _really_ annoying at first, but now I hardly ever notice it. The fact that Agumon and Gabumon both snored louder than him, and Hideto _also_ snored made it easier to deal with really. They all claim that _I_ snored too, but I don't think it's true. Also, we still hadn't gotten around to getting a bigger apartment. We kept talking about doing it, but we'd never let it amount to anything. We went out and rented a single bedroom apartment after Mari moved out of the Alias III headquarters, and haven't looked back.

"Kiyoko," Tapirmon said again.

"What?" I demanded.

"I love you," Hideto stated. "Don't doubt that."

"How am I _not_ supposed to?" I said. "You said your life got boring after saving the world. We didn't get together until after all that. That means that _I_ made your life boring. And now you're complaining about how boring it is. So you're complaining about me. And that makes me think that you resent me. And you don't resent people that you love."

"Wow," Hideto said. "You're just twisting all of my words. All of them."

"Am I though?" I asked.

"Maybe not," Tapirmon said. "You're wrong about him not loving you, obviously, but maybe you guys are kind of boring."

"Well, that's true," Agumon said. "_We_ have way more fun than you guys do."

"You only go to work and take care of Izumi. And she's a cry baby, so she's no fun," Gabumon said. "You never go out together. Not alone anyway."

"You don't watch movies together," Agumon remembered.

"You guys don't own a TV," Tapirmon said. "You both work a lot in a week. Like almost all the time. But you don't spend your money on anything except food and shelter. Also, toys for Izumi."

"I buy concert tickets," Hideto protested.

"But that's all you can think of," Gabumon said, undoubtedly smirking.

"I pay bus fare," I said suddenly.

"No wonder he's bored with his life. If you thought about it, you'd be bored too. Concerts can't be the only source of entertainment," Tapirmon told me.

"Maybe," I said slowly. "But I _like_ our boring life. I _like_ hanging around the house after work, with just you guys. I like watching Izumi learn something new each day. I don't want to miss any of that."

"But...?" Hideto said trailing off.

"We'll talk later," I promised him. "I've got to get her to bed. Now get out of the bedroom. She won't go to sleep if there are witnesses."

"I'm holding you to it. I've got ideas," Hideto told me with a big grin. "And I'm looking forward to it."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, shoving him out of the room. Agumon and Gabumon followed him, laughing. Tapirmon lingered, before floating out of the room on his little cloud. I looked down at my daughter, holding her close to me, rocking her back and forth. I turned the lamp off and the night-light automatically. "You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?" I asked her. Her eyes were still wide open, and she seemed to be taunting me.

I was doomed.

But I was also really excited by the challenge, though I was kind of dreading the inevitable conversation.

_**Iori Hida: 11:15 pm**_

"I find it hard to believe that we spent the last twelve or so hours rehashing stories from our past," I sighed, heading to the refrigerator. Armadillomon was hungry, and though Kana hadn't said anything yet, I knew she was too. There hadn't been much to snack on after the food fight.

"Really?" Natsuni asked me, eyebrow raised. "You and Jou _still_ meet each week to do exactly that."

"We only talk about what happened during the week between meetings," I corrected her. "Can you grab the rolls?" She shook her head at my clarification, but reached over to the bowl in the centre of the table she was seated at, opening the bag of rolls that was waiting there. She picked one out, and chucked it at me. I thanked my grandfather for his training, since it was due to that training that my reflexes went into action and I was able to catch it, just before it hit the ground. Natsuni giggled, and took another one out and tossed it far more gently. I caught it easily. I set them down, preparing to go get the fixings to make some sandwiches, but was hit in the back with a third roll. "What?"

"I thought you were making some for _everybody_," she said with a wink.

"Is this you asking for one?" I asked her.

"It's me asking on behalf of Goblimon, Upamon and myself," she said diplomatically. I rolled my eyes, but opened my hands, catching the rolls she sent my way. She debated throwing a sixth, and I nodded. If I was going to make a slew of sandwiches, I was going to eat one.

"I like when you tell stories, Dad," Kana said, adding to the conversation she didn't realize we'd been having. She was dressed in her pajamas now, white with little flowers in varying shades of red and pink. She was adjusting the little sleeping cap on Upamon's head, setting him down on the tray of his highchair—which Natsuni insisted we use for him, due to the sheer expense in buying it when Kana was a baby. "You know what else I like? Babies."

"Very nice," I said, spreading butter thinly on each side of the rolls, and getting the lettuce out of the fridge. "I like spending hours in the dojo with Meiyomon and Kotemon. It's good for bonding."

"I like watching movie marathons that last all through the night," Natsuni said dreamily. "Which I haven't been able to do since you were born..."

"I like sandwiches," Armadillomon added. "Iori's making me one. I'm excited."

"I like spending time all together," Goblimon said. "As a family."

"I like my night hat," Upamon said cutely. Natsuni cooed at him.

"That's not what I was getting at," Kana said grumpily. "Why don't _I_ have a brother or sister?"

"Uh..." Natsuni and I said as one.

"I mean, yeah, Nikko doesn't have any either, but that's because there were complications, Taichi said so today," Kana said. "But Aika has Shouta, and Tenshi has Hiro, Makoto's got Chika and then there's Emiko and Renjiro, Iris and Madlyn, Louisa and Elliot. Mai has both Osamu and Taro. And now Haruki's got baby Yukai. That means you're not too old right? Since you're the same age as Kurayami. And she just had a baby. So...?"

"Was there a question hidden in there somewhere?" I asked idly. I sliced the tomatoes with a little extra force, and decided to add a side salad to our dinner. I had to use the tomato somewhere. I got the lettuce back out and waited for Natsuni to cave and answer our daughter.

"You know what I want," Kana said.

"How about a puppy?" Natsuni said. "No. We're not getting a puppy. There's too many of us here as it is, and I don't want a new puppy throwing off the dynamic. What about a fish?"

"I don't want no stinking fish," Kana said. "I want a brother. Or a sister. I'm not picky."

"Izumi and Nikko are both only children," Armadillomon pointed out.

"For obvious reasons," Kana pointed out.

"This isn't one of those battles where you can reason with us to ensure your victory," I told her firmly. "This isn't your decision."

"But—" Kana protested.

"No," Natsuni said gently. "Your father and I only ever wanted one child. And you turned out so beautifully. You're more than we ever imagined. And you're not alone. You've got Upamon, Goblimon and Armadillomon."

"It's not the same," she said, looking down.

"Isn't it?" I said. "My mother's digimon is my brother. And by the same logic, my grandfather's is my uncle. So why can't Goblimon and Armadillomon be your brothers?"

"I suppose they already are," Kana said, smiling softly. "And then Upamon is their nephew. Right? Since someday, Upamon with be the brother of my own kids?"

"Yup," Upamon said cheerfully.

"I'm glad you consider us siblings," Goblimon said sheepishly.

"You've been around my whole life. You and Armadillomon must be my big brothers. Oh, I feel sorry for whatever boy I decided to bring home in the future. I've got two big strong digimon looking after me," she said happily.

I finally finished with our meal and brought the plates over to the table. I'd forgotten to bring over water though, so I had to go get it. Natsuni snuck up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. "I'm so glad she didn't pester us," she said, kissing my cheek before going to grab Armadillomon and Upamon's special drinking dishes. Neither of them could actually hold a glass, but I felt a watering bowl wasn't dignified enough for members of our family. They weren't animals. So we had a glass blower create dishes, that were wider than normal glasses, and shorter, but still not bowl shaped. They were fun colours, at Armadillomon and Natsuni's requests. And when Upamon joined us, Kana got to go with Natsuni to make some especially for him.

"Me too," I murmured. "It was all very awkward. And she was trying to out logic us."

"We raised a smart girl," Natsuni said happily.

"She's not raised yet," I told her quickly. "There's still a ways to go yet. Don't rush her."

"Don't worry," she said. "I'm not ready to let her go yet either. We still have at least eight years with her."

"That doesn't seem very long," I sighed.

"Don't eat so fast, Upamon!" Kana scolded as Upamon choked down his sandwich whole. "You won't get to appreciate the flavours if you do."

"But I'm so _hungry_," Upamon whined.

"At least chew, okay?" Kana pleaded.

We didn't get to hear his answer though, because our door burst open and Meiyomon waltzed in like he owned the place. "You guys would _not_ believe what I've been up to these last couple weeks." I rolled my eyes. No. I didn't know, but I knew he was about to tell me.

"Yay!" Kana cheered. "Story time."

_**Michael Washington: 11:20 pm**_

"Do you guys remember when Kiyoko told us about how he thought Hideto was his boyfriend but Hideto didn't even know?" Louisa asked as we all tried to make our final rounds through the house before bed time.

"Mhm," Tatum hummed patiently.

"Do you remember when the paparazzi tried to invade your wedding?" Louisa asked.

"No," I said sarcastically.

"Or when Yamato told Sora that he hated her, but he didn't mean it!" Louisa assured us all, "He could never mean it. He loved her the moment they met."

"That's likely." Elliot said just as sarcastically. "Love doesn't exist. At least not for eleven year olds which is how old he was when he met her."

"I'm eleven." Louisa said proudly, "And I love things."

"Like Haruki?" Elliot said, prodding Louisa in the shoulder sharply.

Louisa's jaw dropped and her hand clutched her chest in shock, she tried a few times to speak, but no coherent words came out, then finally, "I meant Mom. And Dad. And Hopmon and Chapmon."

"Love you too," Elliot rolled his eyes.

"You thought I'd include you in the list of people I loved after you so incorrectly assumed that I had feelings for one Mr Haruki Motomiya?" Louisa barked, "As if."

"Well, you can't love Chapmon then." Elliot declared, scooping his partner into his arms.

"But I do." Louisa said sharply, "I love him more than you love him."

"That's not true!" Elliot shouted.

"When was the last time_ you_ fed him?" Louisa asked.

"I'm teaching him independence." Elliot explained as Louisa collected her beads off of the marble and glass coffee table in the living room. I was doing my best to follow the two of them casually so I could make sure they didn't punch each other or something.

"He's a baby." Louisa growled.

"No, _you're_ a baby." Elliot retorted oh so cleverly.

"Nu uh!" Louisa shot.

"Uh huh!" Elliot growled.

"Nu uh!"

"Uh huh!"

"Guys!" Tatum shouted, "What happened to earlier? You two weren't arguing then!"

"That's because Elliot showed me he had a heart." Louisa said with a shrug, "He joined the side of good against the evil king Jou leader of the baby haters."

"Yeah, because babies are cute." Elliot said simply

"So... since I'm a baby... you think I'm cute?" Louisa asked.

"Nu uh!" Elliot said quickly, his face turning red.

"Uh huh!" Louisa shouted, "You like me, you like me!"

"Nu uh!" He shouted quickly, rushing from the room, Chapmon in his arms.

"He likes me." Louisa smiled to me on her way by, Hopmon, fittingly, hopping after her.

Tatum sighed with a sense of freedom as she sat down on the couch. I understood how she felt. Kids were annoying. And dealing with like seven hundred in one day was a difficult feat. The kids I dealt with on set weren't this annoying.

But I did love my kids. Even though they sometimes made me want to rip my head off.

"Silence is golden." Betamon whispered, laying down in front of the coffee table as Monodromon nodded his fervent agreement.

"Can we get cages, and just keep the kids in them until they're old enough to love each other?" I asked. It was a joke. Seriously—I was kidding.

Tatum laughed because she knew I was joking. "No. Because they do love each other. They just have a text book brother-sister way of showing it." Tatum leaned over to me and rested her head on my shoulder. She was silent for a bit, breathing slowly, my arm around her shoulders.

"I'm so glad we have a full year between these events." Betamon said slowly, "I don't think I could handle any more than just the one."

"I agree." I laughed, "Maybe we could just leave the kids with a babysitter and just have the adults hang out."

"All those kids with one babysitter?" Betamon asked, "I guess it'd be cheap. Because the babysitter would be dead by the end of the day."

"Good point." I sighed. "Oh well. It was worth a shot."

"But the kids are what make it fun." Betamon said, "They're funny and cute and they still have life in them. If it was just you adults you'd all sit around and not know what to do."

"Are you calling me old?" I gasped.

"He's not wrong." Tatum giggled. "Gramps."

"I'm not even forty yet!" I said.

"Pretty soon you can play the floating-glowing Gennai in the show instead of the young fit attractive one." Betmaon joked.

"That's impossible." I said shaking my head, "I'm far too tall."

Betamon and Tatum laughed and then we fell into a blissful silence.

"MOM!" Louisa shrieked, "ELLIOT PUT HIS SNAKE IN MY ROOM AGAIN!"

"Ugh." Tatum and I groaned together, getting up in unison.

"You get the gloves," Tatum said, "I'll get the net."

"Deal." I shook her hand and we set off in opposite directions.

_**Hikari Takaishi: 11:20 pm**_

"I just don't see why I should have to clean up my room," Hiro was saying in his usual explanatory voice where he would draw words out longer than they ought to be. "It's not my mess."

I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair, "Then whose mess is it?"

"Dad's," Hiro nodded. He checked over his shoulder to ensure that Takeru was still closed into his study, then turned back to me, "Yep, mhm." He nodded with a grin. Tenshi rolled his eyes from behind his brother and turned toward his bedroom which was down the hall along with Patamon's bedroom and Hiro's bedroom. Salamon rushed after Tenshi, not interested in Hiro's attempt to get out of chores.

"Though that's not entirely unbelievable," I said, leaning forward, my arms rested on the table, "I know it's your mess because your father doesn't play with your dinosaur toys."

"Okay, okay." Hiro nodded, "Can I clean it tomorrow? It's late. I'm so tired I think I might die."

"Yes, that's fine." I smiled to him.

"Okay," He grinned, "Can I have a snack?"

"You're far too tired," I relayed his information back to him.

"Not for eating!" He gasped. I gave him 'the look' and he backed down instantly, sliding off of his chair and retreating back down the hallway.

"Goodnight Hiro," I called after him before making my way from the kitchen on the main floor, downstairs and into the living room. The living room was sunken, as Takeru claimed it simply had to be, and I had to admit it was pretty cool. I slipped into a seat on the couch where Gatomon was watching television.

She was flipping through the channels with little to no interest in what was going on. "Why can't we live in the Digital World? What was that reason?"

I sighed, "There isn't one." I told her.

"Oh, right, right." She looked up to me with her wide blue eyes. I knew her reasoning. It was, in all technicality, still the digimon's duty to be looking after the Digital World. Sure, the worlds were in everlasting peace—but peace was not indefinite and it was not absolute. Neo had a fairly good team of Knights, but there was no telling what might slip under their radar and become a larger threat. Every now and then Gatomon, Patamon and the others were to go back to the Digital World and survey their sectors. Gatomon wanted to be in the Digital World so it would be easier to do. That and she didn't like Earth as much. Too many industries. The air was polluted. The noise was unbearable. Everything was unnatural. Or... too natural really.

"I told you, we're thinking about it." I told her with a gentle smile. "We might do what Jou did, and have a half and half house." I explained, and then we had a small banter about how Earth really wasn't important—but that's where my workplace was, and my family. Eventually we settled on the half and half house plan.

"Not that it's really my decision," She pointed out, "I'm just saying. I'd like to go home. But I want to stay _with_ you. So..."

"I know," I told her, stroking her head behind her ear. "Wizardmon's here on Earth though."

Gatomon shook her head. "Hardly, he's a Knight, remember?"

"Oh, right..." I sighed, trying to think of something new to retort with, but I heard footsteps from above. Gatomon and I exchanged knowing looks and I got to my feet, jumped off of the couch and crept toward the stairs. I stood at the bottom of it and saw Hiro sneaking past the top of the stairs from the kitchen door. "Hiro?" He jumped and turned his head toward me, freezing in place, trying to pretend he wasn't there. It was hard to see, but it looked like he was holding something in his hand. "What have you got there?"

"Nothing." His distinctly full mouth tampered with the sound of his voice.

"Mhm," I said on my way up the stairs. He shot off back to his bedroom, and slammed the door shut, so I followed him to the door, and pressed my ear against it.

"What did you get?" Tokomon asked excitedly.

"Jackpot!" Hiro responded in a whisper.

"Ew." I couldn't be sure but I was fairly sure that had been Patamon. "We can't eat that." It was. "That's not a snack Hiro. I sent you on your first solo mission in hopes you'd bring something tasty. This is a blasted cucumber."

"But they're delicious." Hiro whined. "Besides, the treats are too high, you can fly, why didn't you just go?"

It sounded as if Patamon groaned, and there was some shuffling from inside before the door opened. "I guess I'll have to do it myself." Patamon was saying as he flew straight into me.

"Hey Patamon," I smiled, "Hungry?"

"Uhhhhh..." He drew his sound out very long, "Nope. G'night!" He shouted, flying off.

I looked into the room to see Hiro and I sighed at the sight of the toys cascading across Hiro's floor. He was hiding his cucumber behind his back, but I wasn't going to punish him for eating healthy. Besides, we hadn't had much to eat for supper, and I wasn't about to send him to bed hungry. "This place is a mess." I told him again.

"Tomorrow," Hiro promised as Tokomon held his breath looking very obviously between Hiro's back and myself.

"Goodnight Tokomon," I said, "Goodnight Hiro, enjoy your cucumber." I closed the door softly and I heard the muffled, shocked whispers from within. "How did she know!?" "She's got eyes on the back of her head!" "She's a sorcerer!" "A mind reader!"

I smiled and looked across the hall to where Tenshi's bedroom door was open just a crack. I reached for the door but stopped after hearing a crash coming from Patamon's room. "I'm okay!" He shouted. I laughed and knocked on Tenshi's door.

"Come in," His soft voice came. I looked inside and smiled at his perfectly organized room. He had a soft yellow rug under his bed and a dark wooden box at the end of his bed. The floors were clean, shining and made of light wood, his sheer white curtains hung straight to the floor, not entirely hiding the dark sky outside, but adding to the room which was painted yellow with white trim. His closet was closed, but I knew his clothes were hung up neatly, and in its place was his cello, in the corner with his wooden stool that he would sit on to practice. Tenshi however was sitting at his desk, his lamp on a dim setting shining down at the book he was reading. He finished his paragraph and turned to me, smiling, "Hello mother,"

"Hello Tenshi," I bowed politely. It was something the rest of us had come to do when in Tenshi's presence as a joke because he always acted so professional it just seemed like something we had to do.

"Did you come to say goodnight?" He asked me.

"I did, yes," I said, stepping forward and kissing his forehead. He smiled up at me, but it faltered quickly. He looked to me, his shoulders sagging slightly. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, "Well, no. Maybe." He looked confused, so he spun around in his wooden chair so he could face me. I sat down on the wooden box at the end of his bed. "I know you and dad were on the same side today in the battle between Jou and Emiko, but some parents weren't." He paused, "And, well, it got me thinking. What if you and Dad aren't always on the same page?"

"I'm not sure I understand." I said slowly, "I know your father and I will have disputes if that's what you mean. It's not possible to agree on everything."

"Like where to keep the eggs in the refrigerator." Tenshi said flopping his hand through the air with a small smile.

"Well they just don't go on the top shelf." I sighed, "That's just silly." Tenshi laughed lightly, but shook his head.

"I mean to ask you if you will ever divorce Dad." Tenshi said boldly and straight forwardly. I immediately shook my head, but he had more to say, "It's just... Grandma and Grandpa aren't together. They've each met someone else, but they got a divorce, and it ripped Dad and Uncle Yamato apart. I don't want that to ever happen to Hiro and I."

"You don't need to worry about that Tenshi." I promised, "I love your father very much, and I know he loves me."

"I know," Tenshi nodded. "I just wonder sometimes what life would be like if we had to separate."

"Don't," I said, standing kneeling to the ground in front of him and hugging him. "We love you, your brother and each other far too much to let anything happen to this family. Intentional or not."

"Thanks Mom," Tenshi said, hugging me back. I saw over his shoulder what he had been reading before. It was written on paper with messy and familiar writing. Tenshi noticed and he shoved it out of the way quickly, "You can't look at that."

"Why not?" I asked, hurt, standing up. Tenshi had never not shown me anything before. "Are you working on something? Can I see it when it's done?"

"It isn't mine." Tenshi admitted, looking to the door. "It's Hiro's. He wrote a poem. And he drew a picture... look." He looked to the door once more and slid the paper across the table guiltily. "Don't read the poem at least." He said, taking the page back, leaving only one page in my hand where there was a beautiful pencil drawing of a wolf.

"Hiro drew this?" I asked, staring in awe at the lines.

"Mhm." Tenshi hummed, "He's so good, isn't he?" I looked to Tenshi and saw he was smiling brightly. "And you can tell I'm not lying because there's a mustard stain on the page."

My eyes trained in on a gross yellow mark dangerously close to my thumb. "Oh, so there is." I set the page down and smiled. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"He doesn't want to make a big deal out of it I guess." Tenshi shrugged. "He never told me why it was a secret, I'm just guessing. But he doesn't like much attention. He gets even more flustered and clumsy than he already is."

"That's true," I smiled, "Well I hope he tells me for himself one day."

"Well I can't promise you that." Tenshi smiled, turning back to the poem.

"I know," I said, "Goodnight Tenshi." I said, kissing his head again. "I love you."

"Love you too Mom," He said brightly, back to his usual optimistic self.

_**Miyako Ichijouji: 11:20 pm**_

My kids were driving me batty. We'd spent a really long day in the Digital World, and then the hospital. Didn't they think I deserved to sleep at some point? I loved my kids. I loved spending time with them, and playing games with them, but I also loved the short amount of time at the end of the night, when I got to unwind after a day of running about and cleaning up after a pre-teen, a rambunctious eight year old, and a baby that was already attempting to crawl. I liked a bit of relaxation before going to bed. Mostly because I knew I'd be awoken only a few, short hours later by that same little baby.

"I can't believe how many exclusives I got today," Mai was telling Ken. "I hit the jackpot. No other journalist could ever get this many scoops in one sitting."

"Technically it wasn't _one_ sitting," Ken pointed out, but our daughter was talking a mile a minute and elected to ignore him. She ranted and raved about how exciting it was to "finally" be getting ahead in her career. I very wisely didn't point out her age, but Ken apparently had no qualms about it. "You're twelve. You haven't been around long enough."

"You can never start too early, Dad. I'm just being ambitious. If I can get ahead of those stuffy old people, then why shouldn't I?" Mai demanded. "I deserve to be happy too. And I want to be a journalist, like Takeru's Mom. Only better. I won't have to write any exposés on toilet paper. No sir. Not me."

"You realize that you wouldn't be considered a hard hitting journalist if you published a bunch of personal memories of several celebrities, right? You might just be categorized as paparazzi, or you might just get given a gossip column, instead of what you want," Ken said gently.

"I just need something that will get my name known," Mai said. "I can work from there. As you said, I'm _twelve_. I've got time. I don't want to just be Mai Ichijouji—the digidestined's kid. That's all anybody refers to me as. Why do you think I don't have many friends? I don't trust _anybody_ to be interested in me, rather than getting this sort of gossip. I figure if I'm the one that puts it out there, no one will ever have to ask me again."

"Mai," I sighed sadly. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"What could you do about it?" she said, raising her eyebrow at me. "If you showed up to lecture them, then they'd be getting exactly what they wanted. So instead, I ignore them, most of the time anyway. There have been a few altercations, girls thinking that by getting close with me they could be Haruki's girlfriend later on, boys thinking they could convince me to date them—and clearly they don't realize that I'm dedicating my time to my future career. I may have punched a couple of them. I'm not going to be a stepping stone for some airhead that thinks she can date my best friend. Not going to happen."

"D-date?" Ken asked anxiously.

"Yes Dad. Dates," Mai said rolling her eyes. "We're twelve. It's a very real possibility for most people my age. Heck, most of them have dated since kindergarten. Nothing serious yet, of course, but there's been a lot of hand holding going on in my grade, and a little bit of kissing when the teachers don't look."

"_You_ haven't, right?" Ken wanted to know. I sighed at him. He was such a protective father, but didn't he know that things were a bit different from when we were kids? Dating was happening at much younger ages these days. He needed to get with the times.

"Didn't you just hear me Dad?" Mai said. "I'm focussing on my career. I don't have time for distractions. Now I'm going to go write my report and send it to a magazine for an exclusive. You guys don't mind do you? Great! Thanks. C'mon Poromon, we've got work to do."

Poromon looked up from the game he was playing with Taro—Poromon's own version of peek-a-boo—and nodded, muttering a goodbye before bouncing off down the hallway, after a rapidly moving Mai. I heard her bedroom door slam about thirty seconds later. I would give her twenty minutes before I make her go to bed. It was late. She could work on it tomorrow.

"Osamu," I called, looking for my little boy. His head popped up sheepishly from behind the couch. He'd been hiding since we'd gotten home. I figured he wanted to see how long it would take for us to notice he wasn't in bed. Clearly, it hadn't taken as long as he'd have liked. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Uh-huh," he said, nodding his head sadly. "But I'm bigger than Taro and he _never_ has to go to bed, it's not fair!"

"He's a baby," I said. "He slept all day."

"I don't like him," Osamu said grumpily.

"Of course you like him," I told him. "Someday you're going to be his hero. And he'll have to go to bed before you soon. You just need to wait until I wean him off of nap time. That won't be for a little while yet. He's only five months old. But someday, he'll go to bed at seven thirty, and you'll get to stay up until nine. How does that sound?"

"Like I don't want to be a baby," Osamu said with a grin. I was so relieved to hear him say that, to see that smile. I'd been worrying since I found out I was pregnant with Taro. I didn't know how the kids would feel about having a baby brother. There was a nearly eight year gap between Osamu and Taro. And twelve years between Taro and Mai. I didn't think they'd take to him well. I was afraid they'd try to get rid of him. I know that I was always worried as a kid that my parents would realize that they had too many kids and need to get rid of one. It wasn't something I came up with by myself either. Chiziru told me that if one needed to go, it would be me, since I was the newest, and therefore easiest to return. I was petrified for weeks before Mom caught on to Chiziru's scheme. And I was scared that Mai and Osamu would try to do the same to little Taro.

But I'd always wanted a big family. It had been too quiet with just Ken, Hawkmon, Wormmon and I. And once we had Mai it was _better_, but it wasn't enough. I needed another person to love, and we had Osamu. We'd always intended to have a third not long after Osamu, but it just wasn't feasible. Ken was starting up his own P.I. business and it had a pretty rocky start. It was awhile before anyone was willing to hire him. Once he'd gotten a few good cases behind his belt, things started getting better, but that took a good three years, and it was another two before we could loosen up our strict budget. It was hard feeding eight mouths on _one_ salary. We knew we couldn't have gotten through it without all the overtime I'd put in at work. It was worth it _now_, but I knew that I could never have gone on maternity leave during that time, and so we had to wait for baby number three.

And in some ways, I feel like its better that we waited. Mai is older now, and more self-sufficient. She can babysit once I go back to work after my maternity leave ends. Unless she doesn't want to, and then our neighbour could do it, I suppose. Which might be better, since I've yet to convince Mai that she can change Taro's diapers if she'd like to.

But I do think we really ought to have waited before hunting down Taro's digimon. He was so small that he couldn't care for Leafmon, and Leafmon was small enough that he needed constant care.

I had three children, which was one less than my own parents had. I was missing me. Well, child number four anyway. I didn't have her, but there were five of us. No. There were ten of us. Wormmon, Hawkmon, Poromon, Minnomon and Leafmon counted. None of us could be here if it weren't for digimon.

"Mom?" Osamu called.

"Yes dear?" I said, realizing that I'd been staring at his face during the entire duration of my inner musings. I tried to make it look like I was looking past him, but thankfully he didn't seem to care about that.

"Can you, uh, tuck me in?" he asked nervously.

"I thought you were too old for that," I said, trying to suppress my smile. He'd come home from a sleepover at Elliot's house, with Nikko, Makoto, Hiro, Aika and Tenshi, one day and suddenly declared that he didn't want me to do that anymore. Apparently, they all claimed they were too old for it, when they realized that Elliot wasn't tucked in anymore. To my understanding, Michael and Tatum had a sort of free reign policy. They could go to bed whenever they wanted, but they had to be up and at breakfast at a certain time—to keep the kids from staying up _too_ late. I would've loved that as a kid. As a mother, I can totally understand why I never got it. But Michael and Tatum had a far bigger house than Ken and I, so they probably could get their relaxation time whether the kids were in bed or not. Their kids were also the most mature kids I'd ever met. Sure they had kid moments, but they were really mature.

I envied them sometimes—like when Osamu colours all over the walls with the crayons and blames Taro, or when Mai starts screaming at me for even _thinking_ that she could part with her old dolls—but I wouldn't change my kids for the world.

"Not yet," Osamu said softly, grabbing my hand. "I think Minnomon's scared of all the monsters in my closet and under my bed still, so we need you to check it out."

"Minnomon, huh?" I asked.

"Definitely Minnomon," he assured me. My little scaredy-cat.

No, I didn't have four children, but I had the three best, and that was more than good enough. For now.

_**Sora Ishida: 11:20 pm**_

"It's bed time Shouta," Yamato said stifling laughter as Shouta tried desperately in his sleep deprived state of mind to explain to us why it wasn't bed time just yet.

"But you should... uh..." He jumped up and down on his bed, accidentally bouncing Tsunomon as well as he searched frantically for something to keep himself awake with. "Read me a story!" He leapt off the bed and grabbed the first book Takeru had written.

"Not tonight, okay?" I told him, taking the book and putting it back on his shelf.

"Mom...?" He said quietly, climbing back on the bed. "Can I go on a adventure sometimes too?"

I looked to Yamato and we both smiled, I didn't think there'd ever be a need to send the kids on a life or death mission, but even so there was nothing keeping them from creating their own adventure one day, so I shrugged.

"Of course you can," Yamato said, "But not tonight. It's bed time."

"But I'm not tired..." He yawned, wiping his eyes as he hugged Tsunomon close to his chest, and laid back on his bed.

"Yes you are," I told him.

"No I'm not," He argued, but by the time he'd finished his sentence he was asleep. I smiled down at him and pulled the thin chain of his mushroom shaped lamp and shut the light off.

"Goodnight Tsunomon," Yamato said, his voice coming from the doorway.

"Goodnight!" Tsunomon hissed through the darkness.

I followed Yamato to the door and out into the lit hallway, closing the door behind me. I saw that Yamato was already on his way to the kitchen, probably to make a sandwich or something equally unhelpful in putting our daughter to bed. But I didn't mind.

I knocked on Aika's door and she hummed her response, allowing me to come in. I pushed open the door and saw, through the horrible disaster that was the mess in her room, Aika, on her knees searching for something.

"Mom," Aika said, stifling a yawn. "Where did you put my lucky underwear?"

I rolled my eyes. She was so unlike me sometimes. "I didn't put it anywhere. I didn't find it in your laundry hamper, so I couldn't wash them."

"Well I didn't put any clothes in the hamper." Aika said as if it were my fault, "You should just clean my room for me!"

"I'm not going to do that and you know it." I told her, "Look, we can find them in the morning, I suggest you go to bed for now, or you'll never get enough sleep."

"I won't have time in the morning." Aika said, "I'll be getting ready!"

"I'll find them!" Yokomon beamed, wiggling across the floor to Aika. "Don't worry. I wouldn't let you play a game against Nikko without your lucky underpants."

"You're the best." Aika said, patting Yokomon on the head. "Now, mom, if you don't mind, I'd like to go to bed."

"O-Okay." I nodded, turning to the door.

"But first kiss me goodnight." Aika said quickly as she leapt into her bed, throwing off some empty boxes that once had chocolate inside. She pulled a ratted pink and blue bear from the crack between her bed and the wall and held it tight. I smiled to her and started the adventure across the uneven terrain and kissed her forehead when I finally got to her. "G'night Mom." She said, rolling over.

"Goodnight Aika," I said to her, working my way back to the door, tripping on something that I was too scared to look back at. I was pretty sure it had moved on its own.

I shut the light off and started leaving when Aika spoke up.

"Mom," She blurted out. "Mom wait." I turned back into the room, but didn't turn the light back on.

"What is it Sweetheart?"

"I... am sorry," Aika said, "Sorry for saying your stories were stupid." Well I hadn't actually told any stories today, but I knew what she meant. "I don't think they're stupid. I like hearing about you and Dad..."

"You do?" I asked, dropping my jaw a little.

"Yes," Aika said after a moment of silence, "I love you Mom."

"I love you too Aika," I smiled. "Goodnight."

"Mhm..." was all she said. I rolled my eyes as I closed the door to the room. She could be so much like her father sometimes. Not that it was a bad thing. Just difficult sometimes.

Speaking of difficult... In the kitchen I found Yamato trying desperately scraping at the mayonnaise jar trying to make a sandwich, but just this morning he had emptied the mayonnaise. And so I told him there was more in the cupboard, but he didn't listen, and now he was frantic, hoping to get enough mayonnaise for his sandwich...

I grabbed some from the cupboard and placed it in front of him.

"Ah, you're beautiful." Yamato said, dropping the jar he was holding and reaching for the new one.

"Thank you," I winked to him.

"I was talking to the mayonnaise." Yamato joked, wrapping his arms around me from behind and pulling me toward him, "But you're not so bad looking."

"Really?" I asked, "Because I have this weird scar on my arm and—"

"Scars are what you should be proud of." Yamato said, "The journey you took was stressful and hard, but you made it here. Scars are proof of the battles you faced."

"You stole that from Gabumon didn't you?" I laughed as he kissed my cheek ignoring the fact that once again I saw right through him.

"You know what Sora?" Yamato said quietly, "I'm proud of us."

"And why is that?" I asked, eyeing up Yamato's sandwich as he returned to making it.

He turned his back on me and sighed as he opened the refrigerator, "Well, we were pretty slow, but after years and years of stupidity we really came out on top. We have two beautiful children, our digimon get along wonderfully, a house that is perfect for the two of us, we both have our dream jobs—I've been to space for Heaven's sake."

"You went to space for the sake of Heaven?" I asked, "Did you find it?"

"Sora," Yamato laughed as he threw some kale onto his sandwich, "I'm serious. We really came out on top. We've got everything we could ever need."

"We've got each other," I added to his list. "No matter how cheesy it is to say."

"Cheese!" Yamato clapped his hands together and turned to find some cheese for his sandwich. "And it's not cheesy. It's true. We've finally got each other. We ploughed through everything fate threw at us, evil digimon, the end of the world, death, douche ex-boyfriends and, well, we still both managed to be friends with Taichi—and we're in love and together and... I dunno. I love it. I love being happy." I didn't say anything, just laughed as he leaned in to kiss me. When he turned back to the fridge Biyomon pushed open the kitchen door and flitted across the floor as I snatched up Yamato's now finished sandwich and went to take a bite.

"I'm hungry Sora," Biyomon said.

I froze and looked to the sandwich that was so close to my mouth now and handed it over to her with a smile.

"But this is yours!" Biyomon said, shaking her head, you keep it.

"No," I said, "I insist. I'd do anything for you Biyomon, you know that." Biyomon smiled at me and just went straight ahead eating the sandwich.

Yamato turned around excited to eat his sandwich and gasped at the empty plate, and upon seeing Biyomon with the half eaten sandwich he raised one eyebrow to me and I jumped toward him and dragged him to the middle of the kitchen.

"I'll make you another." I promised him, throwing his arms around me and I started dancing.

"Well I do have experience waiting." Yamato joked, "And if I had to wait, I'm glad to have been waiting for you."

"And of all the times you've said goodbye, this one hurts the most, because I know you're coming back to me but we've only just returned to the way we used to be." I finished the quote of the song he wrote me so many years ago—right before I left for school.

"You know all my tricks," Yamato joked.

"I like it that way." I told him as he held me closer, still swaying on the spot.

"I thought you liked spontaneity." Yamato said, confused.

"Well I do." I told him, "But I know you inside and out, and you know everything there is to know about me. There are no more plot twists. This is endgame. This is what we've been fighting for."

"You should have said yes the first time I asked you." Yamato sighed, "We could have had this sooner."

"It would have been different though." I told him, pulling away a little and looking him in the eyes. "And I wouldn't want to change a thing. I'm happy just where we are."

"Ditto," Yamato smirked kissing me once more. He pulled from the kiss and clapped his hands together, "So about that sandwich?"

"Alright," I laughed, "But could you turn the heat up?" I asked him, "it's kind of cold." Yamato nodded and headed for the thermostat while I reached to make a sandwich.

"You two are so cute." Biyomon said, startling me, I had forgotten she was there. "I'm happy you're happy too Sora."

"I'm happy you're happy," I told her in return, but then covered my mouth with my hand in shock. "I can see my breath! It's August!"

"The weather might be broken?" Biyomon asked, still not entirely understanding human technology even after all of these years.

"Maybe," I agreed with a smile, "Do you want to ask Gabumon if he wants a sandwich before bed?"

Biyomon left immediately, and I was alone for the first time in nearly a week. I knew it would be short lived so I made the most of the situation and took in the quiet. It was nice to know that even with all the children, relaxation was still possible. But I was glad to have the kids and I was happy with the way things turned out. No matter how hard you try to change it, fate always has a clear plan in mind.

_And really_, I thought as I looked around to the pictures hanging on the wall documenting the years of our lives, _fate really does know what it's doing._

_**Hideto Fujimoto: 11:30**_

I'd been waiting on the couch for a good long while, waiting for Kiyoko to get Izumi to sleep. Yes, she was a handful. But she didn't usually take _this_ long. Not after an exciting day like this one. I was starting to think he was avoiding me again. It took nearly half an hour, before he finally emerged, looking completely exhausted, and not at all triumphant.

"Still awake?" I asked.

"Still awake," he said sounding frustrated.

"Well," I said. "If we ignore her for a little while she might get the hint."

"I don't know if I can ignore her though..." Kiyoko said, looking to the bedroom wistfully.

"We have a talk to have," I reminded him.

"I don't wanna," he said grumpily. He crossed his arms and plopped himself on the couch between Agumon and Gabumon—clearly trying to find a spot I couldn't get near. I took that to be a sign that he was still mad. I sighed.

"Well, we gotta," I told him. "You're mad. I get that. You feel slighted, and it makes sense. But its how I feel. We're boring. Not just as a couple, but in general. We sit at home and talk. We're talked out, Kiyoko. We need more."

"Why haven't you said anything before?" he wanted to know. "Why did you wait until now? We could have fixed things, if you'd just said something."

"We're not breaking up," I told him bluntly. Then I paused. Did that seem too demanding? "Unless...you know, you _want_ to."

"No!" he said quickly and loudly. Izumi started crying for us. She didn't _want_ to be in her crib. She didn't want to go to sleep. Kiyoko winced, and Tapirmon looked ready to float to the bedroom, but I stopped him with a glare.

"Do you even _need_ us here?" Tapirmon said with a pout.

"Yes," I told him. "I have ideas, remember?"

"If you don't want to break up, then what's the problem?" Kiyoko said, though he seemed much more relaxed now.

"You need fun," Agumon said in my place. "We all need to do fun stuff."

"Like what?" Kiyoko asked warily.

"I had so many things I wanted to do, but then I put them off because of school, and then we got Izumi, and I love that we did. Never doubt that for a second, but I still want to do all sorts of things," I said. "I want to go all over the place, doing cool things that'll get my blood pumping. I want to train and try the Tour de France, and I want to go to Spain and experience the Running of the Bulls. I want to go skydiving, parasailing, skiing. I want to swim with the dolphins. You know how you can be put in a cage and then go down and see the sharks? I want to do that."

"That all sounds like dangerous stuff," Kiyoko pointed out. "What about Izumi? She can't do any of that."

"That's the beauty of it," I announced. "We plan trips that have nothing to do with those things, and I just do them while we're there."

"I want to see big cities," Gabumon said nervously, as though we'd shoot his ideas down. "I want to see them all over the world. The really big ones like New York, and Rome, and Paris."

"I want to see Earth," Agumon decided. "Just whatever Earth has to offer. Mountains, oceans, rivers, forests, and just whatever. I want to see the animals, see how different they are from us Digimon."

"That sounds good," Gabumon agreed. "And we could go exploring!"

"Yeah!" Agumon cheered.

"I think we should go see the Digital World," Tapirmon suggested softly. "I haven't really seen all that much of it yet."

"But you're a Digimon," I said, confused.

"He is," Kiyoko said, when Tapirmon looked too embarrassed to explain. "But he wasn't born in the Digital World. The fairy that wanted to recruit me created him out of a cloud. She formed his data right on the spot. He's not recycled data, he doesn't have memories stored in his code. He's younger than most Digimon are."

"Interesting," I said. "I wonder if my fairy created you two..."

"I don't think so," Agumon said.

"But I don't know for sure either," Gabumon told me.

"I want to see my home world," Tapirmon said. "I want to climb Infinity Mountain. I want to ride a Whaemon across the oceans. I want to explore File Island and the Continent of Server. I want to see it all. I want to know where I come from—where I _should_ come from anyway. I want to meet other Taprimon in the Digital World, find out their stories. I want to know if their stars are the same as these ones. I want to know how the seasons differ, find out where it came from. Discover something that's long been lost."

"That sounds beautiful," Kiyoko assured Tapirmon. "And doable. Izumi could even come with us. We could camp out for a week, exploring new terrain. That would be easy."

"But we're not _just_ going camping," I told him. "We're going to make lists, and do everything on those lists."

"That sounds like a lot of work," he said slowly. "And expensive...and...and...and can I _please_ go and get Izumi? It's driving me crazy, listening to her crying and just _not_ getting her."

"How will she learn to sleep through the night if we always coddle her?" I asked him, rolling my eyes.

"Fine," he sighed. "But if she's still crying in five minutes..."

"You can get her," I allowed. "What about you though? What do you want to see? To do?"

"I don't know," he said. "I guess...I'd like to see the Great Wall of China."

"And I'd like to walk it," I said. "So that'll work."

"And Beijing is there," Gabumon added.

"Where can we climb a mountain?" Agumon wanted to know.

"Peru," Kiyoko said quickly. "At the top of one, there's Machu Picchu, an ancient civilization that I'd like to see."

"Start a list," I told him. "Just say whatever comes to mind."

"The Eiffel Tower," he said. "The Coliseum. The Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo—I guess all of the Louvre, the ROM. Stonehenge, the Paris Catacombs, the Golden Gate Bridge, Big Ben."

"The zoo, a safari," Agumon added. "A great big waterfall."

"London, Venice, Toronto," Gabumon listed.

"Coela Beach, Dragon's Eye Lake, Factorial Town," Tapirmon said.

"I want to go parachuting, surfing, snorkelling," I said. "White water rafting. I want to zip-line through the Rain Forest."

"I want to see the Aurora Borealis!" Kiyoko said excitedly. I was glad to see he was finally getting into it. "I want to see the Great Migration in the Serengeti."

"I want to ride a hot air balloon," Agumon said.

"A plane, a train, a cruise boat, a bus," Gabumon cheered.

"And I want Izumi to see it all," I said. Kiyoko looked at me and smiled. "We'll take loads of pictures, videos. We'll buy souvenir sweaters, and when she's got enough, we'll get Sora to sew them together into a quilt for her."

"And when she's big enough, she can join in on the not-so-tourist-y stuff," Gabumon agreed. "She can go snorkelling and skiing and surfing."

"And can zip-line over the trees with one of us," Tapirmon said. "And if anything goes wrong, we can just digivolve and get her out of there."

"You know," Kiyoko said. "It might be better to ease into these crazy adventures. Start small?"

"I like the sound of that, _adventures_," I said, closing my eyes and picturing it. Agumon and Izumi are standing on the beach, an abandoned sandcastle behind them, their shovels and bucket thrown about. They peer excitedly into a tide pool, gasping at the pretty starfishes, and looking in awe at the sea anemones. The water glistens off the shell of the mussels, and the little sea palms stood proud, scattered throughout the nearly waterless pool. Agumon reaches over to stop Izumi before she can fall in—having climbed up the side in her excitement, scratching her bare feet against the rocky terrain. Sand coats her skin, and covers her little pink bathing suit, her towel long forgotten. Gabumon has found a crab, and is mimicking it's ever action, laughing to himself every step of the way. He's still wearing his fur, despite the high temperatures—he doesn't feel comfortable without it. Not far from him is a cooler, filled with beverages, the ice long melted, because Gabumon hadn't replaced the lid. Tapirmon is drifting along the shore, picking up every shell he finds, explaining to DemiMeramon what type each are, and what creature it used to belong to. DemiMeramon isn't listening though. He's too busy laughing at Kiyoko's attempts at snorkelling. He can't keep his head under the water for more than ten seconds. And he doesn't like the feeling of the little fish nibbling on his legs and toes. But he's caught sight of a school of bright, tropical yellow fish and he's sure he's seen a glimpse of a tortoise, and he's far too curious to quite now. I can see it all, of course, because I'm strapped to a parachute, and attached to a boat with a thick rope. I'm having the time of my life, and I know I can't wait to tell Mimi all about it, to convince her to give it a shot.

It would be a story worth telling. A fun adventure just for our little family.

"I can't wait," I said with a smile.

"So..." Kiyoko said, drawing the word out, his lips pulling into a bright grin. "Where do we go first?"

"I know _just_ where to go," I said. "How do you feel about the beach?"

_**Mari Goutokuji: 11:30 pm**_

"Izoo is my friend." Madlyn was telling Lopmon. "Really."

"Mine too." Iris assured Terriermon.

Madlyn was cuddling with Lopmon and Gummymon in her bed on one side of the room that was painted bizarre colours, just the way she wanted it, while Iris was on the subtle pastel coloured room with Terriermon and Budmon. Not that they needed to share a room, there were enough rooms in the house. Now that Jenna was gone, there was her old room, the room that Hikari once used, that I eventually took over, Michael and Tatum's old bedroom, and the bedroom that had always been left empty. The girls were sleeping in Willis' old bedroom, as he and I had moved into the master bedroom finally—his mother's room.

"We're all friends." Iris said, looking to Madlyn.

"Mhm!" Madlyn agreed.

"They're so bloody cute." Willis whispered into my ear. I jumped in surprise. I had gone off to the bathroom but stopped on the way after hearing them talking instead of sleeping. But he wasn't wrong. It was like a cute little bundle of joy and adorableness in each bed. "Did you have fun peeing?" He asked me.

"I got distracted." I told him.

"Well you missed your chance." He said, backing up, "My turn now. I've really gotta go." He was gone a moment later, leaving me and my full bladder to find something else to entertain us.

I made my way down the hall and decided on going outside. I headed quickly down the stairs, then slipped behind them and out the sliding glass doors. I closed my eyes tightly as my stomach seized up. This was where I had been sitting the second time Lalamon had died in front of me.

And outside, in the place where she actually _had_ died, there was a single flower. Willis nor I had planted it, and it never seemed to die. It was tall, and pink with big thick green leaves. I walked forward and sat down next to it, and sighed, leaning back into the grass and staring up at the stars.

"You know Lalamon," I said quietly, "I miss having someone as calm as you around." I waited an appropriate amount of time before continuing, "You know what I mean. I love Willis. I love my girls. I even love the digimon. But I miss you." Again, she was obviously unable to respond so I continued, "I'll figure it out though. I'll get by."

"Well I'll be here to help you through that." It was Willis, flopping down on the grass next to me.

"I know," I said, pushing him in the side playfully before rolling on my own side to be closer to him and look him in the eyes.

"I'm serious." He said, "I'm here."

"Are you?" I asked, "I thought you were in Spain."

"Spain?" Willis asked, "Nah, Spain's not for me. I'd much prefer Iceland."

I smiled at him and relaxed, my head on his shoulder.

"Mari," Willis said slowly. "I'm happy."

"I'm happy you're happy." I smiled.

"Well I was gonna say I was happy because you were happy." Willis laughed, "But I guess this works out well, doesn't it?" I laughed, but then he added, "Seriously though. I'm happy you're in a safe state of being."

"Stop being so lame and romantic-like." I said, but I couldn't deny I was happy he'd said it.

"Well let's talk about something else then?" Willis asked.

"Okay..." I said slowly, "Ooh!" I jumped up into a sitting position and flipped around to face him. "Guess who was just hired as the neighborhood's garbage men?"

"We're in New York City, Mari, we'll need more than one garbage man."

"_Men_." I corrected him. "There are three."

"No..." Willis said, sitting up, a smile spreading across his face. I nodded, "Seriously?" He asked.

"Yep!" I said, "Richard, Tyler and Marshall." Willis fell back into the grass and laughed.

"That's priceless." He said through his laughter. "What are the odds that the three of them were hired?"

"Oh, no you misunderstood." I told him, "They're not getting paid."

"No?" Willis asked, confused, perked up and propping himself up by his elbows. I shook my head and bit my lip to avoid smiling, "Then what?"

"They got out of jail on good behaviour." I told him, and again he was laughing, "Their punishment is community service. They have to clean up New York City."

"That's the funniest thing ever," Willis roared with laughter, "I'd stay in jail!"

"I dunno," I shrugged, "But I might help them out a little."

"Yeah?" Willis asked, confused.

"Yeah, give them something to do." I nodded with a grin, "We've got some junk we could lay out in the park for them to clean up." Willis was laughing again and I relaxed, laying down beside him. He went on for the next few minutes about how funny this new information was, and I listened and laughed along with him all the while, staring at the mysterious flower as it glowed under the light of the moon.

There was a small gust of wind and the flower shook and a small speck of shimmering golden dust flew out into the wind.

I sat up quickly, staring to the flower and a grin split across my face.

_**Koushiro Izumi: 11:35 pm**_

"If you value your computer, I think you should probably come and take it from Mimi," Palmon told me, pulling my attention away from the reports I was reading. There's no rest for the weary. And Taichi really needed these finalized before the next meeting—which was coming up quite quickly, and I hadn't had much of a chance to read them through.

But I _did_ value my computer, so I put them down with a sigh, and followed Palmon to the kitchen, where Mimi was seated at the island, muttering viciously at the screen in front of her.

"Don't know what I'm supposed to do," Mimi was saying. "Why can't you be straight-forward? Huh? Why not? Because you're stupid, that's why. I don't even know why I'm doing this. No. I _do_ know why, but that doesn't mean I have to give you the satisfaction. I will be victorious you useless website. I. Will. Win!"

"Mimi," I said. "What appears to be the problem?"

"This stupid website won't sell me the tickets I need," she said, her frustration was quite evident in the tears forming in her eyes. "I need these tickets. Why can't it understand that?"

"You're going to wake the kids," I told her. "Why don't you take a deep breath and let me know what I'm dealing with, okay?" She glared at me, but took a deep breath anyway. "Good. I realize you're attempting to purchase tickets. But what are they for?"

"The amusement park," she said. "I promised to take the kids to make it up to them, and I intend to keep my word. And since I didn't want to forget, I thought I'd buy them now. But the website keeps telling me I filled in the spaces wrong and I don't get it!"

"Okay," I said, taking one glance at the screen and realized that she was attempting to purchase _today's_ tickets, which would be entirely useless to us—which is what the red letters at the top of the screen were telling her. Instead of pointing out the obvious, I decided inquiry would work better, and so I asked "What day do you want to go?"

"Tomorrow," she said, looking at me confused. "But what's that got to do with it?"

"Just curious," I lied, inputting the newly acquired data in, and the computer allowed me to put the order through. "We just need to print these off now."

"No way," she said. "There's no _way_ you did that. I've been trying for the past twenty minutes."

And that's when her intentions dawned on me.

"Tomorrow?" I asked miserably. "I don't want to go to the park tomorrow."

"It's too late now," she said. "I've written it on the calendar." And I'd bought the tickets too. Damn. It _was_ too late.

"You couldn't have waited a week? Today was exhausting. I've no doubt the kids will appreciate the early morning—they actually _enjoy_ the rides. But I'm not looking forward to being your pack mule. I've got work to do, reports to read. Taichi needs them by Tuesday, and that _only_ leaves tomorrow," I said logically.

"But it's a Monday," Mimi said, as if that were explanation enough. "And no one goes to the amusement park on a Monday. That means there won't be any long lines, and the kids can go on all the rides they want as many times as they want. That means I'm the best mom ever, that means they'll love me again, and won't hold this banishing thing over my head for the rest of my life."

"Do you want me to be honest?" I questioned her.

"Not really," she said with a sigh. "But you will be anyway. Proceed."

"They _will_ hold this over your head," I told her. "They now know that by mentioning it, you will do whatever they desire to make amends. And eventually, when they stop using it to manipulate you, it will be something they joke about. You're never going to forget it happened."

"I know _I_ won't," she said miserably. "But I wish they would."

"Mimi," Tentomon called, walking into the room. He was very careful after the kids' bedtime to keep his feet on the ground. We discovered early in Makoto's life that the buzzing of Tentomon's wings could wake my son no matter where in the house Tentomon was. The sound just called to Makoto. Now, in the interest of letting us all get some rest, Tentomon simply walked. He was much better at it now than he'd been in the past. He had a poor grasp on his equilibrium and was constantly falling over.

"Yes," Mimi asked.

"Motimon had a nightmare," Tentomon said sadly. "And he does not wish for _me_ to comfort him. Evidently, I am not comforting. He wants you."

"I'll be right there," she said concerned. "I wonder what's bugging him."

"From what I gather," Tentomon said. "It has to do with Mari's story. He does not wish to lose his partner, and he doesn't want Chika to lose him either. I wouldn't be surprised if Chika wakes up soon too."

"They are on the same wavelength," Mimi said with a sigh. "I'm going to get some milk. He likes that. You might want to get some sleep Koushiro, sweetheart. You're going to need to get up early tomorrow."

"Sweet talk will get you nowhere," I assured her.

"And what about kisses?" she said, batting her eyes at me, exaggerating the motions.

"They've proven to have better success," I assured her. She leaned down and kissed me once, before rushing to the fridge.

"If that didn't work, you'll have to wait until later. There's a baby up there who needs me!" she said cheerfully, grabbing a tumbler cup and filling it with milk. "I'll be back when he's ready to let me go. Remember to set the alarms, because I won't, and I don't want to miss out on any rides." She blew a kiss to Palmon and Tentomon and flitted out of the room. I could hear her make her way up the stairs. Slow footsteps, trying to keep her weight off of the floor, so she wouldn't wake Makoto. I was so glad that Chika wasn't the same as her brother. She could sleep through a tsunami if given half a chance.

I sighed. "Well, she's gone."

"She is," Palmon said, jumping onto the stool beside mine, looking to the computer screen, seeing the tickets that were taunting me. "Eight tickets. That means we digimon have to go too."

"Of course you're going," I said, as though the thought were preposterous—which it was. "We _never_ have family outings without you. We couldn't. You're just as big a part of this family as any of us."

"I know that, silly," Palmon said. "I just don't like rides."

"I do," Tentomon said. "Because I know that nothing bad can happen to me. And if the ride freezes and everyone gets stuck, I can just fly down to safety."

"I don't like my feet leaving the ground," Palmon told him. "I'm a plant. I'm not meant to fly."

"Unless you're Lilymon," Tentomon pointed out smugly.

"But she's a plant _fairy_. Fairies are supposed to fly," Palmon said, rolling her eyes. "Why don't you like them Koushiro?"

"I get motion sickness. And I don't see why I need to go at all. They've gone plenty of times without me in the past. Mimi _knows_ how ill I get. The last time I attended an amusement park was on our one-year wedding anniversary, at her request. I spent most of the day bent over a trash receptacle," I complained.

"I brought you home at four," Mimi said, sneaking up on us all. She was holding a dozing Motimon. He had one of his three fingers in his mouth, and he curled himself as close to Mimi as he could. "I made you chicken soup, and we watched our favourite show together for the rest of the night."

"I suppose the memories of that day aren't the worst," I said, remembering the day. We still had a poster for that show up on our wall, above our bed. Space travel and unicorns, it was a classic.

"I'll say," Mimi said smiling at me. "I seem to remember the soup becoming a tradition."

"It's my favourite," I said. I had to smile back at her. Her smile always had the ability to remove any control I had over my own. It was an impulse.

"I checked, and I have all the ingredients necessary," Mimi told me. "I think I know what we're having for dinner tomorrow."

"Now you're really just trying to butter me up," I said, feeling any protests I still had flee my mind. I really liked that soup.

"Is it working?" she asked coyly.

"Well," I said. "I've got to get to bed. We've got an early morning tomorrow."

"Yes!" she shouted in excitement. All of us froze. I strained my ears, and swore. Makoto was awake.

_**Ken Ichijouji: 11:40 pm**_

"Goodnight Mai," I said. She was already asleep, but I said it anyway, leaning down and pressing a small kiss to her forehead. I found Poromon sharing her pillow and kissed him as well, covering him up with his own little blanket that Mai wouldn't steal. She was such a cover hog. Her room was what I would call organized chaos. There were crumbled up papers everywhere, and we'd covered her walls with corkboard, so that she could pin "important documents" to them, also posters. She had at least seven posters hanging up. I planned on taking a peek at her "article" but couldn't find one anywhere. I sighed. I'd have to wait then.

I tiptoed out of her room, and nearly ran into Miyako, who was checking on Osamu.

"She asleep?" Miyako asked.

"Yeah, him?"

"Like a little baby," Miyako told me.

We both burst into grins. Finally, we'd have a bit of peace and quiet. Or we thought so, but we realized that Hawkmon and Wormmon were having a bit of difficulty with Taro downstairs. Why did I always forget that he was the biggest handful of the lot of them? We sighed and walked down the stairs.

"I can't get him to stop," Hawkmon said, sounding exasperated. He had wrapped his wings around the baby, and was bouncing him, but Taro wasn't interested. He was crying—not wailing yet, thankfully—and he definitely wanted something.

"None of our games are calming him down," Wormmon informed us. Wormmon had baby Leafmon, and was holding a ball that Leafmon was following with his eyes. He was such a sweetheart.

Miyako scooped Taro out of Hawkmon's wings, and Hawkmon sank down to the floor in relief. "I don't know how you do it," Hawkmon said. "Three kids. I have trouble just watching over Poromon."

"You know that's Mai's job," Miyako said, patting Hawkmon's head as she bounced Taro. He'd stopped crying and was grabbing fistfuls of her hair.

"But he is another of my own species," Hawkmon said. "I did not think I would ever find one. I feel it necessary to watch over him. I feel as though he is to me what Mai and Osamu and Taro are to you."

"He's a piece of you?" Miyako asked him, seconds away from cooing at the thought.

"Not exactly," Hawkmon said. "He's my hope for the future. I wish to protect him always and help him carve his way with his own human partner. I want to bestow all of my learning onto him. I want him to grow into the best digimon he can, so that someday he can be to Mai what I am to you."

"You sound like a proud daddy," Miyako said, tears in her eyes. "I'm so proud of you, Hawkmon. I hope for the same things, for my children, and for the digimon too."

"I feel the same way about Minnomon and Leafmon," Wormmon stated quickly, looking shy and nervous.

"I'm proud of you too," Miyako cried. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm crying. I've never done this before."

"Cry?" I said incredulously. "You cry all the time."

"Not like this though," Miyako said. "I can usually stop it if I want to. I don't have any control. It's not fair. It wasn't like this any of the other times."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, taking Taro from her arms, since she stopped bouncing him and he was going to cry again. I didn't think I could handle _two_ criers. Hawkmon was scooped into her arms once the baby was gone, and he glared at me. I could feel his frustration.

"D-d-d," Taro gurgled. "Da!"

"Dad," I urged. "Come on. Say it with me: Dad."

"Da!" Taro tried again. "D-d-d-d-da!"

"I'm going to count that," I announced. "Miyako, his first word is Dad."

"That's just not true," she moaned. "He's supposed to say Mom."

"Just because the other two did, doesn't mean he has to," I protested.

"He'll be your only one," she declared. "I won't even let the next one see you, until she's said my name."

"She?" I said. Then I stopped, noticing what she'd said. "What next one? I thought three was the goal?"

"But we don't have me," she said, sniffling her nose. Hawkmon ran and got a tissue for her and she blew her nose—which sounded more like honking a horn, not that I would ever tell her that.

"You lost me again," I said.

"Mai is our Mantarou, Osamu is our—admittedly miles better—Chiziru, Taro here is our Momoe. But we don't have me!" she complained. "And I want to."

"Okay, how long are we planning to wait?" I asked. "Until Taro's two maybe?"

"I was thinking maybe seven months," she said slowly.

"You want to wait until he's seven months, or you want to wait seven months?" I asked, confused.

"I was thinking the baby's going to arrive in seven months, whether we're ready or not," she said. I looked at her, tilting my head, asking for clarification. "I'm pregnant," she said. "I'm pregnant!"

I shifted Taro onto my hip, and hugged her close to me with my free arm, peppering her face with kisses. She was laughing and crying and Wormmon was doing a little gig. Leafmon and Taro didn't understand what was going on, but they knew that Miyako was really happy, and so they thought they should be happy too.

It was only Hawkmon that wasn't so excited. "Four, Miyako? _Four_. But you always hated being the fourth child."

"I know," she said. "But I'm not going to be like Mom and Dad. I'm going to pay attention to all of my kids. And all of our digimon. And if you think about it, there's a pretty good chance you'll be getting another baby too, Hawkmon. I mean, our family could be complete with a Pururumon, don't you think."

"We're having a baby!" Hawkmon cheered, excited by the idea that they even _might_ be another one of his species out there, waiting to join our family.

"What are we going to tell the kids?" I asked her.

"We aren't telling them anything until the first trimester is finished, and then we can tell them. I want to wait until the four month mark for everyone to know though, just like we did with Taro," she said.

"Alrighty," I said excitedly, though I still wasn't sure how we'd manage with twelve in the house. We might need a bigger place. We probably would, actually. Taro was still rooming with us, and I didn't think it was fair for Osamu to have to share with his little brother when there was such an age gap. And if this next baby was a boy—which I hoped it was—then he'd have to share with two...

"Stop worrying," Wormmon told me, clearly knowing me better than anyone if he could tell exactly what I was worrying about with just a glance. I smiled at him. To think, there was a time when I could have lost him forever, when I hated the sight of him. Those days were long,_ long_ gone though. He was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Right up there with marrying Miyako and the birth of our three—soon to be four—children. But none of those things would've been possible without him. I never would have even met Miyako, the worlds would still be in chaos. That scared me a bit, the thought that if even one thing had changed, if any one of us had chosen differently, even once, the worlds wouldn't be the same. Every last one of us was necessary. "Ken," Wormmon said, snapping me out of those thoughts. "Things will work out. They always do. If the biggest problem you can come up with, is finding room to put a baby, then that's not so bad, is it? We've faced much worse."

"We really have buddy," I said. "I love you Wormmon." He looked down at Leafmon, embarrassed.

"I love you too, Ken," he said.

"And I love all of you," Miyako cried, hugging Hawkmon closer to her. I looked at Wormmon, and he nodded his head. He prompted Leafmon to join in, and we all collapsed into a group hug. We didn't move until Taro's head fell onto my shoulder, too exhausted to stay awake any longer. I kissed Miyako and went to put him to bed.

"I'll do that," she said, taking Taro from me. "I think I need you to go to the store. We're out of ice cream, and I really, _really_ want some. Mint chocolate chip."

"Yes dear," I said, watching her disappear up the stairs with our baby. Wormmon followed with Leafmon. "Hey, Hawkmon, you want to come for a walk?"

"Yes," he said quickly. "I can't believe she's started her cravings already."

"She hasn't," I told him. "She's trying to brainwash Taro into saying Mom before he gets the hang of Dad. He'll be saying it within the week."

_**Takeru Takaishi: 11:45 pm**_

I was getting a bit frustrated, and so I was tempted to just close the laptop and leave it at that. I wasn't sure how to do this. I had to somehow create an atmosphere totally different from the first installments of my book, maybe a bit darker than the first two, but not as dark as the fifth, and I had to write in the perspective of children I had met only once.

It wasn't easy honestly, but at least I only had to work on the main three for a while. That was nice.

But there was one thing I didn't understand. How had they moved around in the Digital World? It sounded to me like the streams of data that Meiyomon had created, but other than that there was nothing that fit their description... but what was Meiyomon doing tampering with the kids adventures. I'd have to find him and question him later, but until then I couldn't really get into the Digital World plotting of the book.

I groaned and leaned back in my chair.

I'd already told my publisher about the concept of the book and he wanted it written before Halloween. That was only three months. He'd never given me such a short time to write before, but I had enough faith that I could do it... hopefully.

I decided I was done, so I closed everything up and pushed my chair back, ignoring the annoying sound of wood scraping wood.

I got up and was out of my study quickly. I leaned my back against the wall and sighed. I didn't like pressure. It always made it harder to sleep. Reminded me of when we were in peril all the time.

I ran my hand over my face and took a deep breath. Had to relax.

Then I saw a thin line of light seeping into the dark hallway from underneath Hiro's door. It was far too late for him to be awake... what was he doing? I was by his door a moment later, ready to knock and tell him to sleep, but I heard his whispers and stopped to listen.

"All I want in life is an adventure." He was telling Tokomon, I assumed. "I always told myself if life presents me with the opportunity, I'd have to take it."

I smiled, but still knocked on the door. "Bed time Hiro," I told him.

"Kay Dad!" Hiro called out. I was about to check on Tenshi when Patamon caught my attention, flying out of his bedroom. He landed on my head and relaxed immediately. It was interesting to believe that Hiro wanted to have adventures like his parents. He wanted to live a life like ours, and although I would never want him to be in constant danger all the time—never want him to go through what I had—it was certainly good to know. I wouldn't say no to him camping out in the Digital World if it would satisfy his desires, but I didn't want him to go through his partner being in danger all the time. It was a stressful time. And I'd lost my partner twice. It wasn't fun. And that's just how it was.

I'd also lost Sora once—she was practically my sister at the time, and now she... was. Sort of. Sister in law. Close enough. And I was happy she was. It took a long time for them to sort everything out, but Yamato and Sora were both happy, and that's what I'd wanted since day one. I was there when she first laid eyes on him and everything. That was right before that fateful snowfall.

Thinking of snow brought me to the reality of how cold it was, and as if on cue, Patamon shivered as I came to the conclusion.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"Oh, just cold." He said. Without another word I reached up and pulled him into my arms to hug him. "That's better," He said, scrunching his nose up as he dug his face into my chest for warmth.

"Do you think Hiro and Tenshi could go on adventures?" I asked Patamon, who resurfaced with an indescribable expression on his face. He shook his head simply. "Well Tenshi's got Salamon, they could protect Hiro and Tokomon... maybe you and Gatomon could go with them?"

"Well, I'll not say no." Patamon said, "But I certainly don't think it's a good idea just yet."

"Why not?" I said. No, I'll admit it. I was whining.

"Hiro can't even clean his own room yet." Patamon said, "He doesn't have a moral compass yet. Tenshi's a little better off, but they're both just kids."

"Tenshi's nine." I said, rolling my eyes, "I was eight when I first went."

"And you had Jou, and Yamato and Taichi, and Sora and... well, me to take care of you." Patamon said.

"And Mimi and Koushiro."

"No, not them." Patamon said, smiling, "They didn't look after anyone at their age."

"I guess that's true." I agreed, "I liked Mimi though. All those late nights eating chocolate and talking about anything and everything."

Patamon smiled and nodded, acknowledging it, but his nodding slowed and he looked back to me, "How come I don't remember that?"

"You were sleeping," I told him softly, "I'd already tucked you in, and then I'd go out to watch the stars and every night Mimi was there too. She said she loved the way the lit up the sky."

"Sounds to me like you had a crush on Mimi,"

I spun around to find Hikari standing by the cupboards. I hadn't noticed she was even there. I was leaning against the counter in the dark kitchen, about to get a snack. Hikari, as well as pretty much everyone knew that it was true though. I totally did have a crush on Mimi when I was eight. That's just how life worked. A pretty girl who liked spending time with me and loved chocolate as much as I did just plopped into my life. But that was all before I met Hikari.

Then everything changed.

I smiled to her as she flicked on the light, having it pour down and shine off of her long brown hair. "You're beautiful." I blurted out.

"So you've said." She smiled.

Patamon flew from my arms with a small 'ugh' as I stepped toward Hikari. "Well I'm not wrong." I told her.

"You're beautiful too." Hikari said, I was close to her now, and I smiled down at her, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"See I don't want to hear that." I rolled my eyes playfully, "I want to hear how macho and tough I am. And how sensitive and sweet I am on the inside, or some crap."

"That's not crap," Hikari said, "that's all true."

"Mhm," I said sarcastically, "Sure." Hikari laughed that beautiful laugh of hers and leaned in to kiss me, but right before our lips touched I felt a sharp pain in the side of my head. I turned to see Gatomon sitting inside the cupboard next to us looking very apologetic.

"S-sorry," She stammered, holding up a small can, "I was just looking for some tuna."

Hikari laughed and helped her down from the cupboard, and glanced sideways toward me. "You are beautiful though."

"So are you." I said kissing her quickly on the cheek. "I love you." I said in a whisper.

"I love you too." Patamon and Hikari said together.

Then there was a loud thump from Tenshi's room and he groaned loudly. "I'm okay!" He insisted in a voice that sounded much more like his brothers than his own.

Hikari and I exchanged a look of bemusement and shrugged before grabbing our partners and the can of tuna before heading down to the living room to watch a re-run of Digimon on the television.

_**Taichi Yagami: 11:50 pm**_

"I'm not cleaning it up," I said stubbornly.

"Well, _I'm_ not doing it by myself," Rei snapped.

"I didn't say you had to," I said. "We shouldn't have to clean it up. Just write someone's name on a piece of paper, we'll see who got the most votes."

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms. "As long as it's not me."

"Okay," I said. I grabbed a piece of paper out of Nikko's art supply kit—the one he never _ever_ uses—and ripped it into seven pieces. "Nikko, you'll have to write for Koromon."

"Will do, Dad," he said. And everything got quiet, except for the sounds of pens and pencils scratching names on pieces of paper. I gathered them up, and started reading them aloud.

"Jou," I said, reading my own. "That's a good choice. Another one for Jou. Oh, this one says Momoe." Pal and Pul gave each other high-fives. "There are two in here that say Emiko—I think I know who put those in." I looked at Nikko and Koromon, who looked pleased with their choice. "This one says...Sora?"

"She's the one that decided we were at war," Rei said defensively. "I thought it made sense."

"But Jou's the reason that there was one at all," I whined.

"You were on his side," she reminded me.

"So were you," I pointed out.

"Who's the last one, Dad? Please say it's Emiko," Nikko begged. I pulled it out and made a face, looking to Agumon confused.

"Agumon?" I said.

"I thought we were picking out of who was already here," he said, embarrassed. "I thought I should help."

"Noble thought buddy, but I guess we'll be informing Emiko that she's still got a bit of bonding time with her dear old dad before she heads off to school. We have buckets right?" I asked. "I think they'll need buckets."

"And rubber gloves," Nikko said, crinkling his nose up. "And clothespins for their noses. It smells out there."

"We're not going to help them at all?" Agumon asked, sounding disappointed.

"They were the ones in charge of that food fight," Rei said firmly. "And we voted on it. The two of them got the majority vote. They'll have to be the ones that clean up the yard. Sorry, Agumon."

"But not all of the food is bad yet, right?" he said sadly.

"It's kind of all garbage now, bud," I said.

"I'll bake a cake tomorrow for us," Rei said. "Will that make it up to you?"

"You bet," Agumon said cheerfully.

"Can I do the icing?" Pal wanted to know.

"No, me!" Pul said. "She always gets to."

"Maybe I'll make two cakes," Rei suggested. "And you _both_ can decorate one."

"Two cakes!" Nikko cheered. "Alright!"

"There'll be no cake for you if you don't go to bed, young man," I scolded.

"Aw," Koromon said. "Do we halfta?"

"You do," Agumon said seriously. "Because we won't get cake if you don't. And I want cake."

"Me too," Koromon said. "I didn't get any t'day."

"Me neither," Agumon said sadly.

"Then let's get to bed, Koromon," Nikko said brightly. "Then tomorrow will come faster and then we get cake."

"Yay!" Koromon cheered. "Race ya!"

"You won't beat me," Nikko challenged. The bolted out of the room. They sounded like a herd of elephants when they trampled up the stairs.

"Well," Rei said, clapping her hands. "I'm exhausted. What about you?"

"I think I'm going to stay up a bit longer," I said.

"Well, I'll read for a little bit," she said. "I'll wait until you get up there to sleep. Okay? You're not going to take too long?"

"No." I shook my head. I just felt like something was going to happen. She kissed my cheek, and went to try and wrestle Pal and Pul to their room, even if they didn't go to sleep right away. They were adults in human standards. Rei had been with them about as long as Emiko had been alive, and they'd been around before they met Rei. So, they were technically adults. They just didn't act like it, and if they were given free reign, they would destroy the house while we all slept. It'd happened six times already. Six. I didn't want it to happen again.

I rubbed my arms, feeling goosebumps there. Why was I so cold? I went to the big window in the living room, the lights were out, but the moon was bright outside. Bright enough that I could see sparkling white fluffs falling gently to the ground. I walked over to our electric fireplace and turned it on, only realizing how odd it was that I needed to do that once I'd finished. It was August first—nearly the second—why was it snowing?

I swallowed thickly, remembering a day twenty eight years ago, also August first, when the exact same thing happened.

Nikko!

I bolted to the stairs. I had to see my son. Now!

_**Daisuke Motomiya: 11:59 pm**_

"Can I hold him?" I whined. I'd been asking since we left the hospital. But Kurayami wouldn't let me hold Yukai. My new baby boy. And I wanted to hold him!

"Will you give him back? I think not," Kurayami said. She was laying in our bed, pillows and blankets all fluffed about her. I didn't want her to have to move about for anything. I had an array of drinks on her night stand, and there were diapers for Yukai on my pillow. One of those diapers was already used, and smelled horrid. I decided the moment she smirked at me and placed it there that I was going to sleep on the couch.

I didn't know how long she'd hold this over me. I ended up on Emiko's side, and then it didn't matter anyway, since you know, she wasn't even pregnant. So I told her that—Kurayami I mean—again. She just laughed.

"That's not what I'm mad at anymore," she said. "I'm mad that you stole my baby and wouldn't give him back."

"I gave him back," I said.

"Only when Norn _made_ you," she said. Then she looked really sad instead of angry. "Why didn't you give him back when I wanted him?"

"Because I loved him instantly, and didn't want to give him up to anybody," I said. "He's my son too you know. And he's just so little. I don't want anything to get to him."

"And you thought _I_ would hurt him?" she asked sounding hurt.

"No," I said. "But I can't control you. I knew I could hold him and keep him safe because I could control every situation. I can't control you. And I don't want to. But if I can't control the situation, how will I know he's safe? You saw what happened when Haruki held him."

"But he's fine," Kurayami said. "I don't want to be mad anymore. I can't even think straight."

"I know," I said. "It's hilarious."

"Let's not fight," she said. I nodded.

"But I'm still sleeping on the couch," I said. She looked sad, before looking at my pillow and bursting into peals of laughter. I walked out the door to see Labramon hanging just outside the room. "Well, she's all yours, Labramon," I told him.

"Gee," he said sarcastically, hearing her laughter—which had turned sort of maniacal. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," I said with a laugh. Veemon heard me come down the stairs and ran at me.

"Daisuke, Daisuke come and see," he said. But he wasn't excited. He looked terrified. I heard the clock strike midnight. It was a gift from Kurayami's dad at our wedding. An old, creepy grandfather clock. It chimed annoyingly every hour. One chime per hour, so I knew it was midnight because the chiming went on forever. I still hated it, after being married thirteen years. I knew I always would too—hate it I mean.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Just come see," he said. He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the kitchen counter. For a brief moment I thought he was talking about the giant mess on the counters, but I knew he wasn't. There was a piece of paper tapped to the countertop. I pulled it off and started to read.

_Dad_,

_I know I'm going to get grounded for leaving, but it was something I had to do. There are a group of digimon that need help getting back to Earth since some guy sent them back. They miss their partners, and it's up to us to get them back. We were sent an actual mission Dad! Tell Mom not to worry. Benjamin and the council believe we can do it. And it's not just me and DemiVeemon, it's everybody. Well, not the babies, but everyone else._

_Don't be mad Dad. We get to go on an adventure, just like you used to. And I know it's not as cool as any of yours, but it's something. Wish us luck Dad. And don't worry. We make a great team. I knew we were ready for it when you gave me the goggles this morning._

_I love you. And Mom. And Veemon. And Labramon. Oh, and baby Yukai. Don't miss us too much!_

_Love, Haruki (And DemiVeemon!)_

I crumpled the note in my hand and ran up the stairs, slamming open his bedroom door. His bed was made, completely not slept in.

"Daisuke, what're you doing?" Kurayami yelled.

"Haruki's gone!" I shouted back. "He's gone!"

"WHAT!?"

**Next Time on Happily Ever After: **Nothing DDDD: Nothing at all ! :O Oh no! AHHH. Nothing. THE END. This is THEEE END. KINDA.


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